Hi Master, Little Mermaid Will Support You! 26

Chapter 26

To be safe, Assistant Xu chaired the meeting about the new floating water ball proposal.

“It should be fine, right?”

Assistant Xu recalled Wen Ming’s expression as he left the company, feeling a vague sense of worry:

“If something happens to that mermaid, will the Admiral revert back to his previous state…”

MuMu was feeling very unwell.

Everything had been normal that day. The Comment Assistant hadn’t finished upgrading yet, so MuMu couldn’t livestream.

After watching thirty minutes of melodrama, it transformed into a human and wandered around boredly.

Wen Ming’s house was large, but MuMu, with ample time, had already explored every nook and cranny.

It turned its attention to a large appliance: “Little Butler, what’s this?”

“A freshness preserver. Each compartment can adjust temperature and humidity according to the ingredients, maximizing freshness.”

“Wow! For food?”

MuMu opened the freshness preserver. Only two compartments were occupied.

“Master’s food supply is so meager. After I pay off my debt, I’ll buy him delicious food and fill this up!”

MuMu opened the first compartment, which was filled with nutrient solution.

“Master really only eats this?” MuMu closed the compartment indignantly. “Once I make a fortune, I’ll throw all this junk food away!”

Junk food?

The home butler’s camera scanned around but couldn’t identify what MuMu was referring to…

MuMu opened the second compartment—a few cartons of children’s milk with cartoon characters printed on them.

MuMu picked up a carton and shook it: “Human drinks?”

Home butler: “Milk, a natural dairy product, rich in protein and other nutrients.”

MuMu curiously poked a hole in the carton with its claw and squeezed some into its mouth.

“This tastes strange,” MuMu smacked its lips.

But Little Butler said it was nutritious.

MuMu pinched its nose and drank the entire carton.

That’s when its nightmare began.

While still in human form, it felt fine, but as soon as MuMu transformed back into a mermaid, it felt terrible all over.

Stomach cramps, its tail felt like its scales were being scraped off, burning and twitching…

MuMu clutched its stomach, thrashing in the mermaid pool.

It had experienced this sensation before. Once, in the lab, driven by unbearable hunger, it had eaten a few of its own shed scales.

The symptoms were exactly the same. Its cries of pain had disturbed all the other mermaids, and its former master had injected it with something to alleviate the pain.

It hadn’t eaten any scales this time, how could… the milk?

MuMu tried to transform into a human, but its tail was too painful, preventing transformation.

“Awoo…” Master… emergency button…

It weakly crawled to the edge of the pool, its arms too weak to hold on, and slid back down.

“Beep beep!”

The home butler, detecting the mermaid’s distress, immediately sent an alert to Wen Ming.

“MuMu?”

Wen Ming, connecting via video call, didn’t see the mermaid in the frame.

A hand trembled as it gripped the edge of the pool. MuMu struggled to lift its chin above the water.

“Whimper…” I’m in so much pain!

Its voice was weak, its lips pale.

Wen Ming’s voice came from the video call, giving instructions to Assistant Xu.

MuMu felt its mind slowing down, unable to keep up with his rapid speech.

“Awoo.” Master, can you come home a little early today? I’m about to pass out.

“MuMu, wait for me, don’t fall asleep.” Wen Ming’s anxious voice was mixed with the airship’s overspeed warning.

His voice reassured MuMu, even as its consciousness faded.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea overwhelmed it.

MuMu shuddered: I absolutely cannot throw up in my pool!

With a burst of unknown strength, it flipped its tail and rolled out of the mermaid pool.

It landed on the floor with a thud and threw up, tears streaming down its face.

Wen Ming guessed the reason: “Home butler, what did it eat?”

“A bag of snacks and a carton of milk.”

“Schedule an emergency appointment at the Mermaid Center.” The words were followed by the sound of an airship landing.

MuMu was usually very alert to this sound, but it was currently too preoccupied with throwing up, groping around blindly:

“Woo…” I have to clean the floor.

Just as it was about to reach for the curtains, Wen Ming grabbed its wrist.

“Hmm?” What?

MuMu thought it had been grabbed by the home butler’s mechanical arms and struggled, thrashing its tail.

“It’s okay.” Wen Ming quickly wrapped it in a moisturizing film.

It’s Master!

MuMu clung to Wen Ming with its arms and tail, and he picked it up.

MuMu sighed contentedly in his warm, familiar embrace, its pain lessening.

It nestled against Wen Ming’s neck, its eyelids heavy with sleep: “Awoo?”

Wen Ming whispered: “Yes, you can sleep now.”

…

MuMu’s sleep was restless, the sensations reminding it of its time in the laboratory.

It buried its nose in Wen Ming’s shoulder, inhaling his faint, cool scent, finally feeling safe.

“What did you say it drank?”

“Milk.”

“A mermaid’s body rejects lactose, it’s rare. Normally, they wouldn’t drink milk even if they smelled it…”

Waaah, it really was the milk!

MuMu buried its face completely, too ashamed to look at Wen Ming.

Wen Ming rhythmically patted its back, quickly lulling the little mermaid back to sleep.

Last time Xiao Jun and Xiao Yue had visited, there hadn’t been anything to offer them.

So Wen Ming had prepared a few cartons of children’s milk for Xiao Yue when she came to play with MuMu again.

He hadn’t expected MuMu to find them…

“It’s still in pain.” Wen Ming asked the doctor, “How do we treat it?”

The doctor watched him holding the mermaid like a baby, his eye twitching, struggling to maintain his professionalism:

“A mermaid’s lactose intolerance reaction can be quite severe, like an allergic reaction, but an injection will fix it, don’t worry.”

The doctor patted the treatment tank: “Place it inside, mermaids can be quite restless during injections, we’ll need to restrain it.”

A mechanical arm extended from the treatment tank, reaching for MuMu.

“Growl…” MuMu woke up, its tail flaring instantly, letting out a wary growl.

As soon as the arm touched it, it swiftly turned its head and bit down hard on the metal.

“Yours is quite aggressive!”

The doctor said helplessly: “Mechanical restraint won’t work, we’ll have to use mental seascape suppression.”

“It resists any form of restraint.” Wen Ming refused. “Just give it the injection, I’ll hold it still.”

The doctor frowned disapprovingly.

Even a former battlefield Admiral shouldn’t underestimate a struggling mermaid.

“MuMu, let go.”

Under the doctor’s horrified gaze, Wen Ming held the mermaid’s mouth shut with his hand.

“Don’t, mermaids don’t know their own strength when they bite!”

As if angered by being prevented from biting the mechanical arm, the mermaid bit down on his hand instead.

The doctor gasped: “I’ll get the first aid kit…”

“It’s fine.” Wen Ming didn’t even flinch, letting the mermaid bite him. “It’s not using any force.”

The doctor’s voice was full of disbelief: “Really?”

MuMu released his hand and glanced at the doctor. There wasn’t even a teeth mark on his skin.

“It really didn’t bite!”

The doctor, somewhat convinced, picked up the injector and cautiously approached the mermaid.

Seeing the needle, MuMu started growling fearfully, and the doctor, thinking it was about to attack again, quickly retracted his hand.

If it weren’t for Wen Ming’s watchful gaze, the doctor would have used his mental seascape…

MuMu clung to Wen Ming’s arm pitifully: “Woo?” Am I that scary?

Wen Ming soothed: “Good MuMu, just cooperate a little longer.”

The little mermaid, like a rag doll, let him manipulate it, its hands held behind its back by Wen Ming.

Wen Ming’s other arm was wrapped around the mermaid, his hand resting on the back of its head.

Claws, teeth, all the mermaid’s dangerous parts were neutralized.

This posture reassured the doctor completely.

A mermaid this cooperative with its master, how dangerous could it be?

The doctor swiftly injected the mermaid.

He felt the mermaid flinch, but it didn’t struggle as he had feared, only whimpering softly.

The doctor suddenly wanted to laugh—

This mermaid was very good at acting coquettishly.

The injection was undoubtedly painful, but compared to the lactose intolerance reaction, it was nothing.

The little mermaid had endured the worst of the pain, yet now it was whimpering over an injection.

The only difference was whether it was in its master’s arms or not.

The doctor glanced at Wen Ming as he administered the injection—

Truly cold and heartless, not even offering a word of comfort to the whimpering little mermaid.

He was just playing with the tip of its ear.

An unusual action for a mermaid owner, perhaps a special way of comforting between the two of them.

“All done.” The doctor pressed a cotton swab against the injection site. “Good mermaid.”

MuMu’s ears twitched, and it turned its head, smiling shyly.

So cute!

The doctor’s voice was strained as he continued to praise: “The best mermaid I’ve ever seen!”

MuMu wagged its tail happily, rubbing against the doctor’s hand as if in response.

“Thank you.”

Wen Ming suddenly held MuMu’s tail, nodding to the doctor, maintaining a polite distance: “We appreciate your help.”

“…You’re welcome.”

The doctor felt a strange sense of disappointment, staring at the tip of the tail in Wen Ming’s hand:

“You have such a good relationship with your mermaid, have you raised it since it was young?”

Wen Ming transferred MuMu’s medical records to the doctor’s optical brain.

Adopted as an adult?

The doctor opened the records and said in surprise: “Then you have a strong bond. Most mermaids raised from a young age don’t have such a close relationship with their owners.”

“Awoo?”

MuMu tilted its head, as if asking: Really?

“Yes,” the doctor explained with a smile. “Mermaid owners usually bring their mermaids in cages for treatment, but MuMu is always clinging to its master.”

MuMu realized it was still clinging to Wen Ming and self-consciously retracted its hand, jumping into the treatment tank:

“Awoo!” I’m much better now! No need for hugs.

“For a while, its ability to digest food will be affected by the intolerance, leading to loss of appetite. It will need medication and nutritional supplements.”

The doctor opened the door to the examination room: “I’ll get the medication for you.”

Wen Ming stroked MuMu’s hair: “Wait for me here.”

“Woo.” Come back quickly.

The intolerance reaction had drained MuMu’s energy. It initially stared at the door, but its eyelids gradually grew heavy, and it yawned.

MuMu curled its tail, nestled in a corner of the tank, and closed its eyes.

It vaguely heard the door open and felt an intense gaze on it, like a snake’s tongue, sticky and uncomfortable.

And the most unsettling thing was that the gaze was familiar.

Disappointment, frustration, a fanaticism and thirst for knowledge of unknown power…

“!”

MuMu snapped awake, alarms blaring in its mind.

The mermaid surfaced, its expression fierce, its long, curly hair swirling in the water, radiating hostility.

The man standing at the door, however, seemed oblivious to its animosity.

“Number 55, missed me?”

The man in the white lab coat had a gentle expression, but his eyes were cold, creating a disturbing dissonance:

“Been mistreated since you left? How about coming back with me?”