Chapter 12
“Boom!”
Thunder and lightning raged outside, but the atmosphere inside was even more tense.
The staff member wanted to remind Wen Ming that if they didn’t leave soon, the airship’s signal might be disrupted.
Wen Ming, suppressing the pain etched on his face, tapped the mermaid cage twice with his knuckles: “Let’s go home.”
MuMu, sulking, dove headfirst into the pool, only the tip of its tail visible as it slapped the water, creating bubbles:
You go home yourself!
Staff member: …
He picked up a bag of snacks and offered it to Wen Ming: “Food can lure it out…”
Wen Ming shook his head: “It will come out on its own.”
After whispering those words, he turned and left, his footsteps heavy.
“?” The staff member stood frozen in place.
Playing hard to get?
That trick wouldn’t work on a low-intelligence mermaid!
MuMu heard the receding footsteps and surfaced in disbelief:
“Awoo!” I told you to go home yourself, and you actually did!?
It cried out, gripping the edge of the pool, slapping the water with its tail, and leaping into the mermaid cage.
The footsteps continued to fade.
MuMu poked its head out of the cage door and shouted at the staff member:
“Awoo!” What are you standing there for? Hurry up and push me after him!
Staff member: “…Holy crap.”
Playing hard to get worked on a mermaid?
“Did the thunderstorm scramble my brain too…” the staff member muttered, pushing the mermaid cage after Wen Ming.
The wheels of the cage rattled. Wen Ming stopped and took the cage.
The soothing agent was starting to take effect, and the energy around him stabilized slightly.
The staff member breathed a sigh of relief: “I’ll fasten the cage for you.”
“I’ll do it myself.”
“Yes, yes!” The staff member nodded repeatedly, no longer daring to interfere with their interaction.
The atmosphere between Admiral Wen and the blue mermaid was unique.
A natural harmony, untouchable and impenetrable by others…
The staff member quietly backed away, leaving them alone.
“Stay in the cage for now, we’ll be home soon.”
The dim cage door was like a black hole, swallowing Wen Ming’s words without any response.
“I know you don’t like the mermaid cage,” Wen Ming continued. “But I can’t touch you right now, you can sense it, right?”
In the darkness, a pair of eyes blinked, the water-blue pupils clouded with moisture.
Wen Ming sighed softly, resting his wrist against the cage door:
“Sorry, did I hurt you when I threw you earlier?”
The sound of water rippling. MuMu poked its head out of the cage door, its mouth downturned:
“Whimper.” Seeing your sincere apology, I can forgive you.
It tilted its head, its cheek nestling against Wen Ming’s palm.
Wen Ming’s fingers brushed against the tip of its ear, then he restrained himself, retracting his hand and closing the cage door.
…
“This is troublesome…”
In the shadows around the corner, Professor Yin stood a few centimeters away from the wall, careful not to dirty his lab coat.
He listened to the fading sound of the mermaid cage and lowered his eyes:
“Of all people, Wen Ming adopted Number 55.
It’s not easy to take something from him…”
MuMu thought it had made up with its master, but Wen Ming didn’t say a word on the way home.
The airship was fast, and the heavy rain caused turbulence.
MuMu knocked on the cage: “Awoo!” It’s making me dizzy in here, I want to get out!
A deafening clap of thunder was its only reply.
The airship jolted again, and MuMu tumbled clumsily.
It steadied itself against the cage wall: “Awoo?” Master, are you alright?
Then it heard a pained groan…
Good news: Master was still alive.
Bad news: Master sounded like he was dying.
MuMu pounded on the cage door, but Wen Ming didn’t come over, not even offering a word of comfort.
Oh no, did he pass out?
MuMu pressed its nails against the cage door, gritted its teeth, and gathered strength…
“Beep! Arrived.”
Before MuMu could transform, the airship stopped.
The mermaid cage was pulled into the house by Wen Ming. MuMu pressed against the ventilation opening to listen for any sounds from him—
His breathing was heavy.
The home butler followed the mermaid cage, its indicator light flashing red:
“Beep beep! Alert, abnormal mental seascape energy detected. Contact emergency services?”
“No.”
MuMu just heard Wen Ming’s voice when the cage door suddenly opened. Before it could see his expression, it was lifted and placed into the mermaid pool.
It surfaced, and as it opened its mouth to speak, a dried fish was stuffed inside, silencing its cries.
Wen Ming’s movements were swift and efficient.
Due to his rare mental seascape disease, he had been using soothing agents for a long time, and his body had gradually developed a resistance.
He had to settle the mermaid before his energy went completely haywire…
The long-unused mermaid bowl was filled with fish food and placed by the pool, along with snacks, within easy reach of the mermaid.
“Remember to clean your mouth with the teeth-cleaning snacks after eating.”
Wen Ming placed a special snack last, walked to the door, and said as usual:
“Good night.”
What was different was that after leaving the mermaid room, he locked the door.
MuMu stared at the door, biting the dried fish in its mouth, the taste like sawdust.
Humans raise mermaids for their soothing abilities.
But when Wen Ming’s mental seascape was unstable, his first instinct was to isolate the mermaid.
A mermaid might have entered Wen Ming’s world, but that didn’t mean the invisible barrier around him had disappeared.
In his subconscious, he was still alone.
MuMu climbed out of the mermaid pool, its tail trembling as it stood up. No matter how it tried, the doorknob wouldn’t turn.
Locked from the outside…
It pressed against the door, but the soundproofing was too good, it couldn’t hear anything.
Instead, the sound of rain leaked in through the window.
Heavy rain battered the window outside, the accumulated water streaming down like the marks of a tide.
“It seems Master also knows that a low-grade mermaid like me can’t heal you…”
MuMu muttered self-deprecatingly, crawling to the window.
“But you’re the master I wished for from the raindrops.” MuMu’s gaze was firm as it pushed the window open. “The raindrops will help me get to you!”
Instantly, a gust of wind carrying moisture rushed into the room, and the ocean-blue curtains billowed.
“Beep beep!”
The lock clicked open, and the home butler entered the mermaid room: “Rain protection system malfunction detected…”
The cylindrical robot’s camera turned downwards, catching a flash of blue.
“Beep beep! Mermaid escaped the mermaid room!”
MuMu quickly slipped out, crawling towards the strongest concentration of energy.
Its tail dragged on the floor, quickly drying and becoming painfully chafed.
The home butler chased after it, wiping the water marks and extending its mechanical arms: “Activating automatic suppression device.”
“Damn it!” MuMu increased its speed. “Why is Master’s house so big?”
What happened to being poor!
MuMu nimbly flicked its tail, creating some distance between itself and the home butler as it turned a corner.
It arrived at the door of the room with the highest and most turbulent energy density…
As expected, it was also locked.
“Awoo!” Master, open the door!
“Awoo!” Even if my soothing is weak, you have to accept it!
“&*#!” If I end up being the reason you die, how will I ever face other mermaids again!
Its frantic cries were blocked by the soundproof door.
The home butler caught up, its mechanical arms reaching for the mermaid…
Wen Ming had locked himself in.
His room was equipped with a special system. If his mental seascape went haywire, the room would automatically seal and notify the outside world.
Although the sealed room wouldn’t be able to contain a completely out-of-control Wen Ming, the delay would be enough for others to move his mech and prevent him from causing large-scale destruction.
It would also be enough time for others to move his mermaid to safety…
The situation wasn’t that dire yet. Wen Ming still retained his sanity.
The lightning triggered the energy in his mental seascape to churn violently, spilling out from the broken part of the tree.
The massive, uncontrolled energy particles indiscriminately attacked everything in his mental seascape.
“Gasp…”
Wen Ming’s throat tightened, his breaths heavy and labored.
The soothing agent he had injected at the Mermaid Center had worn off.
“Smash!”
His fist slammed against a box, shattering it beyond repair. The soothing agent injectors inside scattered, and he tore open the packaging of one.
Wen Ming’s head felt like it was being torn apart, his vision blurry, only a hazy black and white before his eyes.
The needle trembled as it pierced his arm.
“…” Wen Ming’s brow furrowed even deeper.
Could breaking a small box make such a loud noise?
Wen Ming quickly turned around and saw the door wide open, the lock completely destroyed, its remains dangling precariously.
His vision was still blurry, but miraculously, the black and white world suddenly returned to color—
“MuMu?”
The blue figure didn’t match the one in his memory, and Wen Ming hesitated.
But as it lunged towards him, crying out, he instinctively reached out to catch it.
The turbulence in his mental seascape was causing vivid hallucinations.
The mermaid rushing towards him overlapped with another image—
The shattered aquarium, the swirling shards glinting in the water, yet still not as bright as the blue mermaid’s eyes.
And now, MuMu was rushing towards him again.
This time, there was no aquarium glass, but Wen Ming still heard a clear cracking sound.
Crack!
Whatever stood in its way, MuMu would break through, rushing to his side.
It was the sound of walls collapsing…
The injector in Wen Ming’s hand slipped, and he caught MuMu in his arms.
Holding MuMu had become muscle memory, but this time, the weight in his arms was heavier than he remembered, and the scales felt different.
His body, unstable from the turbulent mental seascape, stumbled backward from MuMu’s impact.
He protectively cupped the back of its head, and MuMu, also afraid he would fall, frantically wrapped its arms around his neck.
Their faces collided.
This completely disrupted Wen Ming’s posture, and they tumbled to the floor, clinging to each other.
In their dizzying tumble, neither of them noticed—
The energy particles in the air momentarily froze…
MuMu, afraid that Wen Ming would stop it from soothing once they steadied themselves, pushed its way into his mental seascape pathways with all its might.
Its body felt hot, and its soothing ability seemed to be supercharged.
The chaotic energy in the pathways obediently parted, and MuMu reached the tree almost instantly.
Thick energy, like pus, oozed from the broken trunk, draining the tree’s life force.
MuMu focused on the break, muttering:
“Flow slower, flow slower…”
With its soothing ability, slowing down the energy leakage was the best it could hope for.
“…Huh?” MuMu gasped. “It stopped!?”
The broken section of the trunk not only stopped leaking energy but also showed signs of revitalization.
MuMu was certain that even a high-grade mermaid wouldn’t necessarily achieve this effect.
A medical miracle!
“MuMu.”
MuMu was pulled back from the mental seascape. It opened its eyes, and Wen Ming’s face was inches away:
“Are you hurt?”
“Awoo!” You should worry about yourself first, that tree was almost dead just now!
After its reprimand, MuMu suddenly remembered something and looked down at itself—
Thankfully, its body had returned to its normal form…
It let out a sigh of relief and hugged Wen Ming, continuing to soothe.
“MuMu, that’s enough.” Wen Ming gently pushed its shoulders away. “The storm has passed, I’m fine now.”
MuMu frowned, swatting his hand away, and resolutely entered his mental seascape pathways again.
Wen Ming sighed and adjusted the stubborn little mermaid into a comfortable position, no longer stopping it.
The turbulent mental seascape gradually calmed, and his vision began to focus.
Wen Ming covered the two injection sites on his arm:
Fortunately, the soothing agent was still effective…
“Woo?” The little mermaid in his arms whimpered strangely.
Wen Ming, thinking it was uncomfortable, supported its tail, letting it lean against him.
MuMu let him adjust its position, trying to soothe again and again, then clutching its head in alarm:
“Awoo!”
It had been so smooth just now, why couldn’t it even access the pathways now?
Wen Ming patted its back gently: “I know you tried your best, MuMu. Thank you.”
MuMu continued to try, anxiously ruffling its hair:
“Hmph!”
You have to believe my soothing ability is working… even if it’s only for a short time.
Wen Ming tucked its hair behind its ear, patiently soothing it:
“MuMu, you’re the only mermaid who doesn’t cause me pain. Your soothing is wonderful.”
MuMu’s eyes glistened with unshed tears: “…” But it shouldn’t be just like this.
“Beep beep!”
Outside the room, the home butler lay on the floor, its cylindrical body struggling to get up:
“This unit has encountered an unsolvable problem. Requesting assistance!”
The home butler was a functional robot. Although clunky in appearance, it was equipped with a pair of flexible mechanical arms.
The arms could clean, capture mermaids, and also right the robot if it fell.
Where were its arms?
Wen Ming stood up, holding MuMu, and walked to the door. The scene there made him raise an eyebrow—
The mechanical arms were detached from the main body, lying on the side, the breaks clean.
Wen Ming’s gaze shifted to the door lock, which had also been cleanly cut…
The ‘Mermaid Care Manual’ stated: ‘Statistics of all mermaid attacks in the interstellar calendar show zero fatalities, and all injuries were minor.
They have never been classified as dangerous species. Please raise them with care and treat these delicate creatures kindly.’
“Delicate.”
Wen Ming pondered the word, looking down at the mermaid in his arms.
MuMu was reaching out, fiddling with the dangling door lock, trying to fix it.
It glanced up, met Wen Ming’s eyes, and quickly retracted its hand, settling down obediently.
Innocent and harmless.jpg
