Chapter 13
The dangling door lock finally gave way, clattering to the floor at Wen Ming’s feet.
MuMu’s breath hitched.
Should I confess to Master?
“Awoo…”
‘Child, never reveal your abilities…’
MuMu’s mouth opened and closed a few times, finally letting out a long yawn.
It closed its eyes and buried its face in Wen Ming’s neck…
MuMu’s best skill, playing dumb, was, in Wen Ming’s eyes, its worst.
Wen Ming stared at it for a few seconds, then stepped over the broken lock and walked towards the mermaid room.
His embrace was swaying, warm and comfortable, and MuMu’s feigned sleepiness became real.
Before being placed back into the mermaid pool, it felt the vibration in Wen Ming’s chest:
“Good night.”
…
During the Mermaid Competition, Wen Ming had noticed a fleeting change in MuMu’s body, and that change had appeared again today…
MuMu was hiding a secret.
“A secret it doesn’t want me to know…”
Wen Ming returned to his room and picked up the home butler: “Play back the recording.”
“Beep beep!” The robot projected the recorded footage onto the wall—
The home butler chased MuMu to Wen Ming’s room, extended its mechanical arms to grab it, then MuMu slapped it with its tail, causing the robot to fall and the camera to point at the ceiling.
“Beep beep!” The home butler’s red warning light flashed continuously. “Unknown risk detected in the house. Notify authorities for investigation?”
“No.”
Wen Ming replayed the part where MuMu’s tail struck, his voice flat:
“Grant MuMu full access to the house. Let it do whatever it wants.”
“Beep beep, which access level should be granted to MuMu?”
“All.”
MuMu quickly discovered that the home butler no longer bothered it.
Before, if it jumped around in the pool, the home butler would start its incessant warnings.
But now, even if it left the mermaid room, the home butler would only follow behind, silently mopping the floor.
“Did I scare it into silence after accidentally breaking off its arm last time?”
MuMu chuckled, floating on its back in the water.
Time to explore new areas of the house!
But it was a polite mermaid and wouldn’t make a mess unless absolutely necessary.
“Sigh, when will Master come home from work…”
In the evening, MuMu’s ears twitched, hearing the sound of the door opening, and its tail slapped the water excitedly:
“Awoo—” Master’s back!
The commotion from the mermaid room was too urgent. Wen Ming casually tossed his jacket aside and rushed over to check on the mermaid.
MuMu shook the water from its hair and raised its hands like a child eager for a field trip:
“Whoo!” I’m ready!
Wen Ming rolled up his sleeves, placed his hands on MuMu’s waist, and lifted it onto the edge of the pool.
After applying a moisturizing film to its tail, he tapped its shoulder: “Don’t move, wait for me.”
MuMu sat on the edge of the pool, its tail dangling and swaying impatiently.
Wen Ming brought a small blanket, exquisitely embroidered with seashells.
He carefully dried MuMu’s upper body: “All done.”
MuMu cheered, jumped onto the floor, and by the time Wen Ming had folded the blanket and placed it by the pool, MuMu was nowhere to be seen.
Wen Ming unbuttoned his shirt, sidestepping the frolicking MuMu, and entered the bathroom.
He had just closed the bathroom door when MuMu pushed it open, holding his suit jacket:
“Awoo!” Put on some clothes, don’t freeze to death!
Wen Ming, about to take a shower: …
MuMu continued its worried nagging:
“Awoo…” You have no idea how fragile you are. Last time at the competition, I took my eyes off you for a second, and you almost died. I have to look after you all the time.
I worry so much about this family, you have to listen to me.
Wen Ming: “…”
Wen Ming: “Thank you, MuMu.”
MuMu forced the jacket into Wen Ming’s hands, squeezed into the bathroom, and continued its exploration.
It lifted the toilet lid and tilted its head, pondering:
“Awoo?” What’s this small fish tank for? Mermaid babies?
Wen Ming said seriously: “MuMu, you can’t go in there.”
“Tch.” I wouldn’t want such a small fish tank anyway.
MuMu closed the toilet lid disdainfully and jumped into the bathtub:
“Awoo!” Now this is more like it!
It stretched out its tail, accidentally blocking the bath sensor, and the faucet sprayed water in its face.
MuMu jumped up, biting the faucet as if ready for a fight to the death…
Wen Ming swatted MuMu’s head twice as punishment. The little mermaid let go of the faucet and pointed at it accusingly.
Then Wen Ming demonstrated how it worked.
“Oh~” MuMu played with the sensor, lifting and lowering its tail.
Its interest was as fleeting as it was intense.
While Wen Ming was brushing his teeth, MuMu had already abandoned the bathtub and was lying by the sink, observing him.
“Hmm?” Is this a human snack stick? Why can’t you bite through it?
After Wen Ming put the clean toothbrush back, MuMu secretly took it:
“Awoo!” Your teeth are no good, I’ll chew it for you!
It bit down on the toothbrush. It wasn’t as crispy as a dried fish, but that didn’t deter it.
With a “crunch,” the toothbrush met a tragic end.
MuMu offered the remaining half to Wen Ming, mumbling:
“Woo (chew chew) awoo (chew chew)…”
Here, eat it, I chewed it for you.
Wen Ming finally noticed, snatched the toothbrush, and skillfully held MuMu’s chin:
“Open your mouth.”
As soon as he did this, MuMu knew it wasn’t edible.
It obediently spat it out:
“Woo…” Human snack sticks are tasteless, so yucky.
“Don’t move.” Wen Ming pressed his finger against the mermaid’s upper palate, checking for any injuries from the toothbrush.
MuMu’s mouth still moved: “Ah.” Don’t worry, I won’t steal your food, you eat it!
“If you eat anything you’re not supposed to again, you’ll be confined to the mermaid pool.”
MuMu deflated like a punctured balloon, curling up sadly, hugging its tail:
“…” Who would want such a tasteless snack stick anyway, Master is so mean.
As it was sulking, a dried fish was placed in its hand.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Wen Ming looked down at it. “Eat.”
The little mermaid, munching on the dried fish, finally stopped its mischief.
Wen Ming carried it out of the bathroom, placed some time-consuming chew toys beside it, and watched it eat contentedly.
So easily appeased…
Fortunately, food could keep it occupied, otherwise, with its curiosity, it would have turned the bathroom upside down.
Wen Ming adjusted MuMu’s house access again—
Disabling its access to the kitchen stove and prohibiting it from approaching electrical outlets or medicine.
He scanned the remaining permissions, hesitated, and sent Xiao Jun an optical brain message:
“Which house access permissions did you disable for your daughter?”
…
MuMu finished its snacks and patted its belly contentedly.
Transforming consumed more energy. Previously, these snacks would have been enough, but now it could also have some fish food for a late-night snack.
“Can Master still afford to feed me after eating so much?”
MuMu’s face crumpled with worry: “I wonder if they’ll hold the Mermaid Competition again…”
The sound of water in the bathroom stopped. Wen Ming emerged, wrapped only in a towel, his upper body bare, his skin damp.
At first glance, MuMu thought it was a fellow mermaid with a white tail.
“Awoo!” I like this look on you, much better than those clothes you wear outside!
MuMu jumped onto him, its tail flicking. Wen Ming had no choice but to catch it.
“Eek~”
Your muscles here are shaped differently from mine.
The color here is different too.
And here…
MuMu traced its hand down his body, until it reached his abdomen, where a ferocious scar was intertwined with the defined lines of his muscles.
“Woo?” Is the wound healed?
MuMu placed its palm on the scar, closed its eyes, and activated its soothing ability.
It only knew this one method of healing.
The restless little mermaid slid down a bit, and Wen Ming shifted his grip to hold it securely:
“MuMu, no need to soothe.”
The little mermaid was fixated on the wound, touching it repeatedly, occasionally looking up at his expression.
“It doesn’t hurt.” Wen Ming understood its meaning. “This is from the battlefield.”
MuMu fiercely clawed at the air, as if wanting to avenge him.
Wen Ming was silent for a few seconds: “It wasn’t the Zerg. It was me, on the verge of collapse, who hurt myself. My mental seascape has been damaged ever since.”
“Awoo…” Why are you always almost dying when I’m not around?
MuMu slumped its shoulders and continued to explore downwards, searching for other wounds.
Its fingers brushed against the towel, pushing it aside slightly…
“MuMu.” Wen Ming’s arm suddenly tightened. “You can’t touch any lower.”
MuMu blinked, staring at him dejectedly.
“…Really, you can’t.”
Wen Ming carried it into the mermaid room and placed it back in the water.
MuMu tore off the moisturizing film from its tail, grabbed Wen Ming’s hand, and placed it on its own tail:
“Awoo.” You touched me, now it’s my turn to touch you, we’re even!
It reached for the towel.
Wen Ming firmly grabbed its wandering hand: “Humans and mermaids are different. Humans don’t have scales for protection down there, it’s very fragile.”
MuMu retracted its hand and picked up the scar repair ointment from the pile of mermaid supplies by the pool.
It patted the edge of the pool, gesturing for Wen Ming to lie down:
“Awoo.” I’ll apply the slippery stuff for you, it works very well.
“MuMu, I’ll say it again, humans and mermaids are different.”
Wen Ming said calmly: “We use different ointments, eat different food, speak different languages…”
MuMu looked confused, picking at the ointment’s packaging.
“Do you need an example?”
Wen Ming’s voice deepened. He took MuMu’s hand and placed it against his throat.
“Good, night.”
His Adam’s apple vibrated as he spoke. MuMu couldn’t describe the sensation, nor could it describe the look in Wen Ming’s eyes:
“Just like these two words, I’ll never hear your reply.”
…
MuMu couldn’t sleep.
Every time it was about to drift off, it would hear “good night” and instantly become wide awake.
The little mermaid floated on the surface in the darkness, its eyes wide open.
Its clan lived in the ocean, a place filled with constant danger.
Although Jiao Ren were skilled hunters, other apex predators competed for territory and attacked them, so even while sleeping, they had to remain vigilant.
“Good night,” such a phrase didn’t exist in MuMu’s language.
But MuMu didn’t mind Wen Ming saying good night to it.
Wen Ming was a good master who kept his promises. After saying good night, he would create a safe and comfortable sleeping environment for MuMu.
“Awoo, awoo.”
The sounds coming from the mermaid room weren’t even within the human audible range.
MuMu sighed, placing its finger on its own throat as if feeling Wen Ming’s words:
I’m a mermaid who keeps my promises too. After saying good night, I’ll protect Master.
I want to reply to him!
“Good, night.”
“…?”
Before MuMu could confirm if it had imagined the sound, its body lost its balance, its lower half thrashing as it sank into the water.
“Cough, cough!”
MuMu frantically surfaced, gasping for air: “Gasp—gasp—
Wait, how can a mermaid choke on water?”
MuMu’s face froze as it looked down at the water.
Frantically… kicking?
“Admiral, the morning meeting will begin in ten minutes.”
At the Wen Corporation building, Assistant Xu followed behind Wen Ming, reporting:
“The Qi Corporation’s mermaid supplies company has recently partnered with the Mermaid Center to promote toy water balls. We’ll be discussing countermeasures in today’s morning meeting. I’ll send you the materials now.”
“Water balls, Qi Xuan’s project?”
“Yes.” Assistant Xu glanced sideways. “You know about the water balls?”
Wen Ming scanned the materials he received on his optical brain: “I saw them at the Mermaid Competition.”
The Admiral, attending, the Mermaid Competition?
Assistant Xu slowly adjusted his glasses: “How… is raising your mermaid going recently?”
Wen Ming straightened his suit collar: “It’s started demolishing the house.”
Assistant Xu perked up at the relatable topic: “Demolishing the house? It’s fine, it’s just a mermaid being a mermaid, splashing water around, that sort of thing.”
“It pulled down the curtains, chewed up a toothbrush, and destroyed the home butler’s mechanical arms…”
Assistant Xu’s initially relaxed expression changed as he listened, his eyelids twitching:
“Hold on… mechanical arms? The ones made of starsteel?”
“Yes.”
Assistant Xu looked at Wen Ming strangely:
How could a mermaid cause that kind of damage?
Could it be that the Admiral’s old mental seascape injury had flared up, and he had unconsciously destroyed the arms, mistakenly blaming the mermaid…?
“That’s really…” Assistant Xu struggled to find the right words. “…quite destructive!”
When they arrived at the meeting room, the other company executives were already present.
After Wen Ming took his seat, relevant materials were projected onto the central screen, and everyone began to voice their opinions:
“Although the Qi Corporation’s project is large-scale, Qi Xuan, the person in charge, can’t accomplish anything significant. There’s no need to be overly cautious.”
“The water ball sales are threatening Wen Corporation’s new fish food and have even become the designated toy for major events at the Mermaid Center. The tide is turning in favor of the Qi Corporation!”
“We have to admit that our competitors are catching up. We must also accelerate the development of our mermaid toys…”
“Everyone.”
At this voice, all discussion ceased, and everyone turned to look at Wen Ming.
Seeing his furrowed brow, their hearts sank:
This matter is actually causing Admiral Wen to frown? Is the Qi Corporation really that much of a threat…?
Wen Ming continued: “Except for the departments I mention next, all others should continue according to the current schedule. Design department, submit mermaid toy ideas in groups…”
He spoke quickly, assigning tasks to each department within minutes, his exceptional ability to handle matters greatly accelerating the meeting’s progress.
“Meeting adjourned.”
Several people hadn’t finished recording their department’s tasks. When they looked up, only the meeting room door was gently swaying…
Assistant Xu hurried after him: “Admiral! Admiral, where are you going? There are three more meetings after the morning meeting…”
“Postpone them.” Wen Ming listened to the alarm from his optical brain. “There’s an emergency at home.”
“Huh?” Assistant Xu ran a few steps but couldn’t even catch up to his shadow.
“Doesn’t the Admiral only have a mermaid at home?” Assistant Xu wondered. “What could be so urgent…
Could it be that the mermaid turned into a human?”
He chuckled at his own joke: “I can’t stand my own sense of humor…”
