Chapter 14
On the night MuMu learned to say “good night,” a life-altering change occurred—
Its fishtail turned into legs.
Smooth, scaleless legs that were incredibly clumsy in the water.
MuMu stared at its lower body: “So this is what the part Master wouldn’t let me touch looks like…”
It touched the back of its neck. The gills it used to breathe underwater were also gone.
It had completely transformed into a human!
MuMu tried to take a step. The water resistance was more than twice as strong as when swimming with its tail.
Its feet slipped, and it fell backwards into the water, instinctively trying to breathe, only to choke and black out.
Help, help, gurgle—
Just before becoming the first mermaid to drown, MuMu’s legs transformed back into a tail…
“Awoo!?” What’s going on!
After a night of experimentation, MuMu successfully transformed into a human several more times.
Just like its hunting form, it could control its transformation into a human form with its mind.
But it wasn’t very proficient yet. Sometimes, while thinking “human form,” the sharp claws of its hunting form would emerge…
MuMu wasn’t sure if this ability belonged to Jiao Ren or mermaids.
If it was a Jiao Ren ability, it would have to hide it. But if all mermaids could transform…
It could go to work with Master and earn money!
MuMu began to fantasize about its future work life.
The next day, when Wen Ming came to feed the mermaid before work, as usual, MuMu looked at him in his suit as if seeing its own future…
“?”
Wen Ming’s thumb brushed against the corner of MuMu’s eye: “Dark circles?”
“Beep beep! Detected 201 instances of water movement in the mermaid pool last night. Conclusion: The mermaid stayed up late.” The home butler reported.
“Didn’t sleep well?” Wen Ming turned and drew the curtains. “Then get some rest, MuMu.”
“Okay.”
MuMu replied, its pupils constricting sharply as it heard the human-like sound of its own voice.
It looked down, and sure enough, it had legs.
Why now!?
MuMu held its breath, dove into the water, hugged its legs, and screamed internally:
Change back! Quick!
“MuMu?”
A figure appeared above the water. Through the ripples, MuMu couldn’t see Wen Ming’s expression clearly.
Oh no, is he going to make me go to work today…?
“Why are you hugging your tail?” Wen Ming’s tone was normal. “I’ll take care of your tail when I get back.”
“…”
MuMu, its soul still out of its body from fright, sank peacefully to the bottom of the pool.
Wen Ming gently placed the fish food and snacks by the pool.
Only after hearing him leave did MuMu surface to eat.
Practicing transformation all night had consumed a lot of energy, and a bowl of fish food wasn’t enough to fill its stomach.
MuMu eyed the fish food bag longingly, then glanced at the home butler that lingered in the mermaid room.
“Woo…” Forget it.
It was no longer the mermaid whose only thought was food. Now, it was a star mermaid with a master, dreams, and worries.
It urgently needed a way to communicate with the outside world!
“Awoo!” MuMu howled at the home butler.
The robot’s camera turned towards it, reflecting a cold light.
“Awoo, awoo?” Home butler, can you help me contact Hua Hua? Xiao Jun’s mermaid, Hua Hua.
The camera turned away.
MuMu slumped, pushing the mermaid bowl into the pool.
The clatter attracted the home butler to the edge of the pool.
“Beep beep!” An opening appeared in the cylindrical body, preparing to extend a mechanical arm to retrieve the bowl.
Where were its arms?
The home butler clearly malfunctioned, stuttering by the pool.
The culprit behind the missing arms tapped the robot’s casing: “Awoo.”
The camera turned, so close that MuMu could see its own reflection.
“Awoo…” If you can’t contact Hua Hua, can you look up if mermaids can turn into humans?
“Beep beep, foreign language detected, translating.” A loading circle appeared on the screen.
MuMu cupped its face in its hands, its tail swaying expectantly.
“Translation failed, exceeds language database.” The loading circle turned into a red X. “Please enter your query—”
A search bar appeared on the screen, along with dozens of input methods.
Very user-friendly, but not very mermaid-friendly.
MuMu poked at the screen randomly and sighed deeply: “The lab didn’t teach me how to read…”
“Beep beep, searching, ‘The lab didn’t teach me how to read…'”
“?” MuMu saw a human with black hair in the camera’s reflection.
The next second, the home butler’s warning light flashed red: “Unfamiliar face scanned, intruder alert, notifying homeowner!”
“Don’t!” MuMu slapped the robot. “Look again, I’m the mermaid of the house!”
The home butler malfunctioned even more severely.
The scan results matched the recorded information perfectly, but the species match failed.
A loud “clunk” came from inside the robot, and wisps of black smoke emerged from the top.
Its CPU had literally fried.
“Wait, don’t die yet.” MuMu said with concern. “Help me search, can mermaids turn into humans?”
The home butler was still rebooting, but the search bar worked automatically, its electronic voice announcing:
“Mermaids cannot turn into humans.”
MuMu sighed: “Then I have to keep this a secret too…”
The home butler’s indicator light flashed a high-level alert: “Mermaid exhibiting abnormal behavior, all recorded, notifying homeowner!”
At the same time, Wen Ming, in the middle of a morning meeting, received an urgent message from the home butler…
“Don’t notify him! I’m not dangerous, I just have a few questions, don’t report it, Master is very busy with work.”
‘Grant MuMu full access to the house. Let it do whatever it wants.’
“Beep beep! Instruction received, notification canceled.”
A loading bar appeared on the screen: “Sending recorded footage of abnormal behavior.”
“Don’t send the footage either! Why are you so stubborn?”
Frustrated and annoyed, MuMu transformed into its hunting form and swiped at the camera with its claw…
Several clean cracks appeared on the robot’s body, even revealing the main chip inside.
The home butler almost met its end.
“Instruction received, video transmission canceled.” It stubbornly emitted a staticky electronic sound.
“So you do listen…” MuMu felt a pang of guilt and returned to its human form.
“This unit is the latest model home butler, equipped with all functions, fulfilling all your requests.”
A means of communication with the outside world, acquired!
MuMu’s eyes lit up: “Oh wise home butler, can you recommend a way for me to earn star coins?”
“What are your job requirements?”
MuMu counted on its fingers: “Flexible hours, high pay, no upfront costs… and preferably no public appearances!”
The all-powerful home butler fell silent.
Even buying a lottery ticket requires money. With these requirements, most of the search results would likely be illegal.
A part fell out of a crack, and the screen turned to static…
Meanwhile, Wen Ming received the urgent message, sped through the meeting with maximum efficiency, and rushed home.
Strangely, the content of the home butler’s alert was empty, no text, photos, or videos.
Only when he reached his doorstep did he receive a new message from the home butler:
‘Help me!’
“.” Wen Ming carefully checked the doors and windows, but there were no signs of forced entry.
So the only thing in the house that could make the home butler cry for help was…
Wen Ming rushed to the mermaid room—
The home butler stood motionless beside the mermaid pool, and the little mermaid, holding a part, was frantically trying to fix it.
Seeing Wen Ming, MuMu clutched the part, hid it behind its back, and gave him a nervous smile:
“Awoo?” You’re back so soon? Good thing I changed back to mermaid form in time.
Wen Ming approached step by step.
MuMu’s smile became even more strained. It lifted its tail and placed it on the edge of the pool:
Want to apply the slippery stuff?
“Not doing tail maintenance now.” Wen Ming held out his hand, palm up. “Give it to me.”
MuMu obediently placed the part in his hand.
Wen Ming glanced at the damaged home butler, his mouth downturned.
“Awoo!” I’m sorry!
MuMu lowered its head almost to its chest: “Whimper…” I didn’t mean to be so rough, I just wanted to scare it, I didn’t control my strength…
Wen Ming interrupted: “Is it injured?”
MuMu cautiously glanced at the home butler and nodded: “Whoo.” It’s not doing well.
Wen Ming: “And you?”
MuMu blinked and shook its head.
“The home butler is an electric robot with a battery inside. Touching it in this state could cause an electric shock.”
“Gasp!” Electricity!
MuMu remembered the electric prod from the laboratory, and the tip of its tail curled up.
Wen Ming reached out his hand.
“!” MuMu, thinking he was going to punish it, flinched and closed its eyes tightly.
Wen Ming’s hand paused in mid-air, then continued, gently massaging the tip of its ear.
“MuMu, look at me.”
The little mermaid’s eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as it looked up at him.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Wen Ming’s dark eyes were as calm as their first meeting, but there was a subtle, almost imperceptible change:
“Don’t be afraid of me, and don’t be afraid of the home butler. This is your home.”
MuMu smiled and reached out to hug him, then abruptly stopped, careful not to touch Wen Ming’s crisp suit.
It grabbed the small blanket from the edge of the pool and draped it over its upper body.
From its hair to its waist, it was completely covered. Then it lifted its face, the only part still visible:
“Awoo!” Now your clothes won’t get wet, hug!
Wen Ming’s optical brain was flashing continuously with messages, urgent calls from Assistant Xu:
‘Admiral, is the emergency handled?’
‘Many departments are asking about the toy development, it’s urgent, when will you be back at the company?’
‘Your mother is here at the company…’
Wen Ming turned off his optical brain, bent down by the mermaid pool, and hugged the “blanket monster.”
MuMu whimpered in his ear, as if apologizing for the home butler incident, or perhaps confiding some worries.
He couldn’t understand, but he felt it was more important than Assistant Xu’s messages.
Does that home butler have a personality? It’s definitely got a personality right? And it only shows it in front of MuMu 😂
It’s kind of funny seeing the little mermaid go from not knowing what a toothbrush is to now job hunting for income lol. Now how will he learn to read… Smart technology, maybe?
Thank you for translating this series! I’m really enjoying it so far~