Chapter 10
Not far from Wen Ming, several nobles were showing off their mermaids:
“See that mermaid by the seaweed? Its tail has unique markings, said to bring good luck. I paid a fortune for it.”
“You’ve been tricked. My solid-colored mermaid is the noble breed. Not a single scale on its tail is a different color, exceptionally beautiful.”
“Judging a mermaid by its appearance is too superficial. My high-grade mermaid’s soothing ability ranks among the top ten in the entire interstellar world!”
The Mermaid Competition was not only a competition for mermaids, but also an opportunity for nobles to show off.
Unable to reach a conclusion in their comparisons, the nobles exchanged glances and shifted their target in unison—
They approached Wen Ming.
“Admiral Wen, you also brought your mermaid to participate?”
Wen Ming glanced at them indifferently: “Yes.”
A single syllable response was enough to indicate his unwillingness to converse, an attitude that was intolerable to the proud nobles.
However, the nobles forced a smile and continued to try to engage him:
“I heard that Wen Corporation’s new fish food has made a comeback. What a remarkable improvement…”
Wen Ming’s company was the envy of all nobles.
A major collaboration with Wen Corporation could elevate an entire company to the next level.
But Wen Ming was like an iceberg. Approaching him, not only could they find no point of entry, but their own enthusiasm would also be extinguished.
“Admiral, to be frank, my company has a very promising plan recently… I wonder if you’re interested…”
“I’m sorry.” Wen Ming didn’t even look at them. “This is my personal time.”
“…We, we won’t disturb you any longer.”
The nobles stomped away, muttering under their breath:
“I thought since he’s raising a mermaid now, we could find some common ground, but with that attitude, even a thousand common topics wouldn’t lead to a conversation!”
“Sigh, those who don’t know him might think he’s being isolated, but in reality, he’s isolating the entire interstellar world…”
One of them asked thoughtfully: “Don’t you find it strange?”
“Strange how?”
“Admiral Wen doesn’t seem human!” The person threw their hands up. “I don’t believe anyone doesn’t need emotional connection!”
“Yeah, if Qi Xuan had any of Admiral Wen’s achievements, he would have bragged about it eight hundred times already.”
“The Admiral has never had any scandals, very few friends, and it’s said he rarely contacts his family, keeping company with solitude.
Where does he get his emotional sustenance from?”
“Wow—look!”
The crowd suddenly stirred, pointing at a mermaid and exclaiming.
It was floating in front of the glass, its gradient tail well-maintained, shimmering with a unique radiance in the water.
It was the blue mermaid that had been performing rolls and spins earlier.
It was positioned slightly higher than human height, looking down at someone in the crowd.
“Ptoo, pop!”
Under everyone’s gaze, it blew a bubble.
The bubble burst the moment it touched the glass. Without pausing, it blew another string of bubbles, letting them pop against the glass.
“What’s it doing?”
“It seems… to be calling someone?”
Everyone followed the direction of the bubbles—
It was Wen Ming.
Xiao Jun’s daughter tugged at his arm: “Daddy, what’s wrong with MuMu?”
“It’s calling Uncle Wen Ming, I think.”
“Uncle Wen Ming’s mermaid is so nice.” Xiao Yue said longingly. “Hua Hua swam past just now and didn’t even seem to recognize us, but MuMu can recognize Uncle Wen Ming from so many people.”
Xiao Jun recalled his visit to Wen Ming’s house and laughed heartily:
“It’s a magical mermaid that can differentiate between Wen Ming and others!”
“Pop, pop, pop!”
The bubbles MuMu blew seemed to have a magical quality.
After bursting against the aquarium glass, they floated into the air invisibly.
The “vacuum zone” around Wen Ming was easily broken by the bubbles.
The constant sense of loneliness that surrounded Wen Ming vanished like smoke along with the bubbles, with a soft “pop.”
Wen Ming walked towards the little mermaid that was calling him.
The nobles who had failed to engage him earlier exchanged bewildered glances:
“The Admiral’s expression now, compared to when he looked at us…”
“I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s a world of difference.”
“Is his mermaid hungry? It’s actually actively seeking out its master.”
As Wen Ming approached the glass, MuMu swam down, stopping at the same level as him.
“Woo, awoo, awoo!”
Master, someone was talking bad about you, just you wait, after I win the 100,000 star coins, no one will dare isolate you!
MuMu didn’t care if anyone outside could hear it, launching into a torrent of complaints.
Wen Ming could only see a stream of bubbles rushing towards his face, but he tilted his head slightly, listening intently.
“Hmph!” MuMu, having vented its frustrations, finally felt better.
It also finally realized that behind Wen Ming, there were many other human gazes.
MuMu pursed its lips and curled its tail.
As if this posture could hide it.
Through the glass, Wen Ming shaped his hand as if to pet it, placing it opposite MuMu.
His palm was broad, and as his sleeve slid down, it revealed a section of his arm with clearly defined veins, hinting at strength.
That hand brought MuMu a surge of security.
It stretched out its body, pressing its cheek against the glass, rubbing against Wen Ming’s hand.
Warm, dry, the rough fingertips sending tingling sensations…
Not really.
“Woo…” This smelly glass is cold and slippery, not comfortable at all.
MuMu started a new round of complaints.
If humans knew what it was complaining about, they would find it picky and spoiled.
However, from the humans’ perspective, the blue mermaid was acting coquettishly towards Wen Ming through the glass.
Sighs of admiration filled the viewing area:
“Such a clingy mermaid!”
The emotional value of pet ownership was fully realized.
The nobles were silent for a moment before one finally spoke:
“Where did the Admiral buy his mermaid… I’m not envious, just curious.”
“Come on, your eyes are green with envy.”
“If I had a mermaid like the Admiral’s, I wouldn’t be interested in socializing either.”
“Is stealing a mermaid against interstellar law?”
“If you can get past Admiral Wen, feel free to try.”
“…On second thought, I’ll pass.”
At the top of the aquarium, staff members were preparing for the next round.
“Is the event going smoothly?”
A gentle and refined man approached, his gaze casually sweeping over the container holding live fish.
“Professor Yin?”
The head of the Mermaid Center personally supervising the work?
The staff member was stunned for a moment before reporting: “Very smoothly.”
Professor Yin walked to the container of live fish, carefully adjusting his lab coat to avoid getting it wet:
“Has the number of live fish released into the aquarium changed?”
The staff member looked confused but still counted them: “Same as the number released.”
Professor Yin’s eyes flickered, but his emotions remained hidden.
He pulled a blade from somewhere in his lab coat, bent down, and made a swift cut.
A fish in the container thrashed violently, its blood staining the water…
Throughout, a gentle smile remained on his face.
A “gentleness” that made the staff member’s hair stand on end.
Professor Yin looked at the mermaid toys the staff member was holding: “Are you going to release those toys next?”
“…Yes.”
A strange whisper drifted past: “Add a little something extra for it.”
The staff member rubbed their ear: “What?”
Professor Yin returned to his normal volume: “Release the rest of the live fish as well.”
“Yes.”
In the aquarium, MuMu sensed something, raised its head, and twitched its nose:
“?”
There seemed to be a familiar smell…
The announcer’s voice rang out again: “The first round has concluded. After deliberation, the mermaid receiving the bonus points for the first round is—
MuMu with the blue tail!”
Applause erupted in the viewing area.
MuMu turned around, its back to them, hiding its smug smile.
Not a single roll had been in vain!
The announcer: “Now, let’s introduce the rules for the second round.
Mermaid toys will be released into the aquarium. The judges will score the mermaids based on their interaction with the toys, which will be their points for this round.”
At the same time, transparent, spherical toys fell from above the mermaids.
MuMu caught one, squeezing it. The water ball’s surface was soft and pliable, a texture mermaids liked.
“So this is a toy? How do we interact…”
“Splash!”
MuMu’s mumbling stopped abruptly as something else entered the water.
Small fish, startled by the change in environment, scattered in all directions, turning the aquarium into a truly beautiful underwater world…
“Wow—” Xiao Yue exclaimed, pointing at a fish swimming past. “Daddy, will the little fish be eaten by the mermaids?”
“No.” Xiao Jun answered without hesitation. “Mermaids don’t hunt live prey by nature. Instinct doesn’t lie.”
Instinct doesn’t lie…
With just the scent of a single drop of blood, an ocean predator can track prey several kilometers away.
And that injured fish, in MuMu’s mind, became a target point in a 3D image, its every movement tracked.
“Gasp, gasp…”
A certain “mermaid’s” gills fluttered with longing.
Fish food, dried small fish, freeze-dried shrimp…
Its nature told it: Forget that tasteless food, go hunt what you’re supposed to eat!
Claws, teeth, scales, all clamoring, boiling.
Its hunting form was about to emerge…
‘Child, never reveal your abilities. Pretend to be an ordinary mermaid to survive…’
MuMu’s reason and instinct battled fiercely, its body stiff, turning its neck like a marionette.
The humans chatted and laughed, many recording their mermaids’ performance with their optical brains.
If MuMu transformed now, the entire interstellar world would be in an uproar over the “Jiao Ren”…
“Tap, tap.”
Wen Ming tapped his knuckles against the glass. The faint vibration brought MuMu back to its senses.
Its vision, almost completely covered by the membrane, couldn’t focus, but it could vaguely see Wen Ming pointing upwards with his index finger.
It could guess what its gentle master was saying:
If you’re hungry, swim to the entrance of the aquarium, and I’ll give you snacks.
If you don’t want to play anymore, we’ll go home.
Don’t eat anything you’re not supposed to, understand?
The injured fish swam right past MuMu, its strong scent of blood breaking through MuMu’s last shred of willpower.
Its sharp nails suddenly extended, puncturing the water ball in its hand, deflating it…
Sorry, Master, I didn’t want to eat anything I wasn’t supposed to.
Outside the window, a flash of lightning split the sky in two.
The lightning illuminated the research lab, making Dai Rong’s face appear pale.
“Lightning disrupts the energy field, triggering mental seascape chaos…” she muttered to herself.
Long hours of continuous work had loosened a few strands of her hair.
Dai Rong re-tied her hair just as the lab equipment beeped, signaling the completion of its task.
After sampling MuMu’s soothing energy, she analyzed its properties and inputted them into the machine to match against the mermaid database.
As long as there was a high-grade mermaid with similar energy properties to MuMu, Wen Ming’s mental seascape could be saved!
She hopefully opened the results—
‘No match found.’
“…”
There wasn’t a single mermaid in the entire interstellar database with similar soothing abilities?
Dai Rong stared at the result for a moment: “Just what is that mermaid…”
