Chapter 45
MuMu had no memory of losing consciousness, but it could clearly smell its former master on one of the humans at the entrance of the mermaid room.
That villain must have trashed Master’s house!
Professor Yin’s subordinate’s face became a mask of hatred in MuMu’s eyes.
“Awoo!” I’ll fight you!
“MuMu,” Wen Ming stopped it. “No claws or teeth.”
MuMu’s weapons were instantly sealed: “Woo?” Can I use my tail then?
Wen Ming picked up a severed mechanical arm from the floor and handed it to MuMu.
“Awoo!” This will do nicely!
MuMu gripped the mechanical arm, then suddenly smelled blood.
There was a shallow cut on Wen Ming’s arm, blood trickling down.
MuMu’s fury intensified, its blue eyes blazing, and it charged, wielding the mechanical arm:
“Growl!” You dare hurt my Master!
The subordinate, still reeling from the ocean perfume, looked bewildered:
“Huh?” Is it coming for me?
MuMu slid across the wet floor like a penguin on its belly, reaching him in a blink of an eye and lashing out at his legs with the mechanical arm.
“Ouch! That hurts! How is it so strong!?”
The subordinate jumped around like he was standing on hot coals, dodging the whip-like attacks.
“Marshal, quickly catch it with the net!”
The Marshal shrugged, putting away the net launcher: “It’s tiny, hardly a threat. It’s clearly a protected species.”
“Who needs protection right now!?”
The subordinate, in pain, pleaded with the little mermaid: “I didn’t destroy your room, you did! And I didn’t hurt your master, you scratched him when you pounced!”
“Growl!” Lies!
MuMu attacked even more fiercely: I would never destroy my own home, and I would never hurt Master!
The starsteel mechanical arm was incredibly painful, and the subordinate retreated to the wall, hopping on one foot.
If this Jiao Ren caused a death or serious injury, it could be classified as “dangerous” and taken back to the lab.
But…
The subordinate felt the stinging pain in his legs, his face contorted: It hurts, but it’s not even a minor injury.
He had been beaten for nothing.
The men who had opened the package at the entrance watched him being chased by the mermaid, amazed:
“You’re just letting it hit you? Use your mental seascape to suppress it!”
The subordinate, his mind clouded by pain, instinctively followed their advice and activated his mental seascape…
Wen Ming bent down and picked up MuMu from behind.
The subordinate’s mental seascape was far weaker than Professor Yin’s. His energy, upon contact with Wen Ming, dissipated immediately, unable to reach the little mermaid.
“Using mental seascape attacks against a protected species carries a minimum sentence of five years in interstellar prison.”
Wen Ming’s eyes were icy as he looked at the Marshal: “You’re recording all of this, right?”
“Indeed.” The Marshal produced a pair of star cuffs and restrained the subordinate.
“Huh?” The subordinate frantically looked around, searching for an excuse, but there was none.
With a last shred of hope, he looked at the people from the Mermaid Center:
“Help me!”
Seeing the star cuffs, they were terrified: “Sure, we’ll tell Professor Yin that you’ve quit your job.”
“You!”
“We won’t violate the confidentiality agreement.” They promised Wen Ming and the Marshal before scattering.
The subordinate’s eyes were bloodshot: “I…” I was supposed to capture the Jiao Ren and bring it back to the lab.
How did I end up being the one captured?
“Growl…”
MuMu continued to bare its teeth at him, its nose twitching, and it sneezed repeatedly.
The smell of the powder and perfume had mostly dissipated thanks to the ventilation system. MuMu leaned towards the subordinate, seemingly fixated on something he was carrying.
The subordinate clutched the vial of powder.
There was only one vial, and the lab hadn’t been able to analyze its composition, he couldn’t lose it.
“Hmph~ woo!” The little mermaid squirmed in Wen Ming’s arms.
Wen Ming carried it closer to the subordinate: “Give it to me.”
The subordinate pretended not to hear.
Wen Ming, holding the mermaid with one arm, suddenly punched him.
Even the Marshal felt the force of the punch. From her experience, a broken nose and a black eye would be the least of his worries.
She wanted to ask Wen Ming for a link to that “strength training equipment.”
“This is being recorded!” she warned.
The punch stopped just short of his face.
The subordinate flinched back, his head hitting the wall with a thud.
He saw stars, his body went limp, and the vial slipped from his hand.
MuMu flicked its tail, caught the vial, and tossed it upwards, catching it securely.
“Awoo!” You dropped it, so now it’s mine!
The subordinate clutched his head, his face full of resentment: “Assault?”
“Did I touch you?” Wen Ming looked down at him, his eyes dark, his hand firmly on the mermaid’s shoulder, shielding it from the subordinate’s gaze.
“But…”
“You can argue your case in interstellar court.” The Marshal called her subordinates and had Professor Yin’s subordinate taken away.
“Now, let’s talk about it—” The Marshal raised an eyebrow at MuMu. “It’s been confirmed, it’s not a mermaid, it’s a Jiao Ren.”
MuMu’s body stiffened, it couldn’t believe its ears.
It frantically tugged at Wen Ming’s collar: “Woo.” I don’t remember being exposed!
With the unpleasant people gone, MuMu dropped its aggressive facade, its voice almost melting the Marshal’s heart.
“Don’t worry, your identity will remain confidential.” The Marshal softened her tone. “I’m here to confirm your existence and protect you.”
MuMu hesitated, unsure whether to trust her, then buried its face in Wen Ming’s chest.
It nuzzled his neck, its “acting coquettishly” skills surpassing even the most skilled mermaid:
“Whoo?” Can I trust her?
Wen Ming adjusted its position in his arms: “Yes.”
Marshal: OoO
What the hell happened to the Admiral Wen I fought alongside on the battlefield?
“Ahem!” The Marshal continued. “Wen Ming, it’s not a legally recognized species for domestic ownership.”
MuMu felt like it had been struck by lightning.
This blow was worse than being exposed as a Jiao Ren.
Its tail fin flared, its gills fluttered rapidly, and it opened its mouth, its teeth pressing against Wen Ming’s neck.
A single moment in its hunting form, and it could sever his artery.
It pleaded, threatening Wen Ming:
“Woo…” Don’t abandon me.
It had been abandoned so many times, it had finally found a home that accepted it.
“Mermaids are kept as pets because they can’t survive independently.
But according to the report, Jiao Ren are natural underwater hunters from Ocean Star. They value freedom, belong in the wild, and cannot be domesticated.”
Hearing the words “Ocean Star,” MuMu’s bite loosened slightly.
The Marshal said earnestly to Wen Ming: “Please respect its nature, end this illegal captivity.”
MuMu clutched the vial of powder, its tail swishing back and forth like a wavering scale.
Wen Ming’s lips tightened: “No one can decide for it, it has its own free will.”
“Then I’ll leave you to discuss it, I’ll wait outside.”
The sound of a large airship landing came from outside.
“A ship capable of warping to Ocean Star is ready for departure.” The Marshal left those words before exiting.
Silence returned to the mermaid room.
MuMu, which had been whimpering earlier, was now silent, its chin resting on Wen Ming’s shoulder.
“MuMu, don’t be afraid, if you don’t want to go, I’ll find a way for you to stay.”
Wen Ming felt the little mermaid hesitate, then nod.
“So, think carefully before answering.”
Wen Ming placed MuMu on the padded wall and looked into its eyes:
“Do you want to stay with me?”
This time, MuMu didn’t hesitate: “Awoo.”
Wen Ming smiled faintly, turning to pick up the overturned home butler: “Good, the mermaid room needs renovations, we’ll sleep in the sleep pod tonight…”
He looked back and saw MuMu staring out the window.
The color of the curtains reflected on the glass, a shimmering ocean blue, and MuMu blinked, as if seeing another world.
Wen Ming’s smile faded, and he rephrased his question:
“Do you want to return to Ocean Star?”
MuMu glanced at him cautiously and shook its head.
The little mermaid was terrible at hiding its feelings.
It didn’t dare look out the window anymore, its gaze fixed on the tip of its tail, as if afraid that choosing “Ocean Star” would mean never seeing Wen Ming again.
Wen Ming approached it: “Do you want to live in the ocean, or is there another Jiao Ren waiting for you?”
MuMu grabbed his hand and pressed it against its throat, letting him feel the vibrations:
“…M… ma.”
The word “mama” sounded similar in many different languages.
Wen Ming understood and said softly: “I see.
You can go.”
“!” MuMu gripped his hand tightly, “awooing” urgently.
“But I’m not that generous, I can’t bear to return you to the ocean.”
Wen Ming’s fingers traced the line of its neck: “If you return to your clan, you’ll find a Jiao Ren mate, lay eggs, raise your young, and live out your life in an ocean I can never reach, right?”
MuMu looked both aggrieved and confused:
“Woo?”
“Three days.”
Wen Ming glanced at his optical brain: “In three days, there’s a passenger ship warping to Ocean Star, I’ll go and bring you back.”
MuMu finally processed his words, a slow smile spreading across its face:
“Awoo!”
“Will you come home with me then?”
“Awoo!!!” MuMu jumped up and clung to him.
“Boo, boo!” You’re so smart! I’ll go say hello to Mama, remember to pick me up on time!
After the chaotic events, MuMu’s hair was a mess, wet strands brushing against Wen Ming’s cheek.
“Sit down, let me braid your hair.”
MuMu grabbed a comb and placed it in Wen Ming’s hand, sitting obediently with its back to him.
The little mermaid’s good mood was as buoyant as a bubble, its tail beating a rhythm against the water, humming a tune, its swaying head making the braiding process more difficult.
Wen Ming recognized the tune as the theme song from the melodrama and chuckled:
“Will the other Jiao Ren laugh at your off-key singing?”
MuMu pursed its lips: “Awoo.” I won’t sing in front of them, they made fun of me when I was young.
Wen Ming finished the last braid: “But you’ll be the Jiao Ren with the prettiest hairstyle, they’ll all envy you.”
MuMu giggled, touching its hair: “Awoo?” Where’s the hair clip?
“It’s dangerous to have seaweed tangled in your hair in the ocean.”
Wen Ming took off the seashell necklace and put it on MuMu: “Wear this instead.”
MuMu looked puzzled: Aren’t you wearing it anymore?
“I’m afraid that if I touch the seashell, I won’t be able to resist warping to Ocean Star, capturing you, and hiding you away where no one can find you.”
MuMu chuckled.
It looked back at Wen Ming and saw that his expression was serious.
“…?” MuMu’s smile faltered. “Gasp!” You’re not joking, are you?
“Beep beep!” The home butler approached the mermaid room. “Mechanical arm damage detected, requires repairs… click!”
Wen Ming picked up a severed arm, inserted it into a crevice in the robot’s body, and pried open the casing.
The home butler emitted a string of garbled electronic sounds, and white smoke billowed out.
“Awoo!” Little Butler!
MuMu grabbed Wen Ming in alarm: Should we call a professional repairman!?
Poor home butler!! He needs arm upgrades badly