Hi Master, Little Mermaid Will Support You! 49

Chapter 49

A spectacular sight unfolded among the Jiao Ren—

The entire clan was chasing their tails, expressing their reverence towards a single Jiao Ren.

The Clan Leader also conveyed its utmost respect: “I never imagined such a powerful individual would emerge from our clan!”

“Huh?” MuMu pointed at itself. “Me?”

The Clan Leader asked hopefully: “Can you help our clan escape human greed?”

“I know who the villain is.”

MuMu recounted its experiences in the lab: “He collected many mermaids suspected of being Jiao Ren, taught them human language, and wanted to control us and make us fight for him.”

The Jiao Ren became increasingly angry, their sharp claws slashing through the water as if wanting to tear apart the villain MuMu described.

The Clan Leader sighed: “We Jiao Ren have the strength, but we’re powerless…”

In hand-to-hand combat, humans were no match for Jiao Ren, but a human’s mental seascape could easily suppress them.

So they could only avoid contact.

MuMu said seriously: “I’ll find a way. Some humans have promised to protect me, maybe they can help.”

The Clan Leader’s lips twitched: “Humans are greedy, don’t trust them so easily.”

“Okay, I only trust one human completely.”

The Clan Leader pressed: “Are you certain this human doesn’t covet Jiao Ren?”

“His family isn’t wealthy, his desire for star coins must be stronger than his desire for Jiao Ren.”

MuMu pondered, frowning slightly: “Is that the kind of ‘greed’ you’re referring to? If so, he hasn’t gone beyond good night kisses.”

Clan Leader: “…?”

Jiao Ren: “What’s a good night kiss?”

MuMu blew a few bubbles awkwardly: “Nothing, I mean he can be trusted.”

Seeing the Clan Leader’s knowing look, MuMu quickly changed the subject:

“Clan Leader, is my mama out hunting? I haven’t seen her.”

The surrounding Jiao Ren suddenly fell silent, their tails stirring the sand on the seabed, as if hiding something.

MuMu paused: “What happened to her?”

“Ever since you were captured, she’s been tracking human ships, trying to find you.”

The Clan Leader looked towards the distance worriedly: “She hasn’t returned to the clan in days.”

MuMu turned towards the direction the Clan Leader was looking, its voice urgent: “What if she’s captured? I’ll go find…”

“Don’t be impulsive!” The Clan Leader stopped MuMu. “If she’s captured, what can you possibly do?”

The other Jiao Ren chimed in: “Humans are cunning and treacherous. Their ships have electricity, it can stun you if you touch it, worse than an electric eel!”

“And we can’t tear through their special nets. If they suppress you with their mental seascapes, you’ll be captured too!”

The Clan Leader said gravely: “A Jiao Ren can’t rescue another captured Jiao Ren. We can only pray for your mama’s safe return.”

A Jiao Ren can’t rescue another…

But what about a human?

“Do you have any human clothes here?”

MuMu followed the Clan Leader to the clan’s “junk” pile, where they discarded useless human objects.

The Clan Leader rummaged through the pile and pulled out a bundle of clothes: “These fell off a human ship. What do you need human fabric for?”

MuMu gestured at itself: “To wear.”

“Oh…” The Clan Leader looked confused. “Who will wear them?”

“Me.” MuMu was surprised by such a simple question. “Does the clan need them?”

“…No, they’re useless to us.”

The Clan Leader rubbed its forehead, its worldview seemingly shaken.

It held up a pair of pants: “How can you wear these? Your tail won’t fit.”

“I’ll transform into a human first.” MuMu stuffed the clothes into its bag. “Seems like my size, perfect!”

“Transform into what?”

MuMu saw a flicker of understanding in the Clan Leader’s eyes: “Don’t tell me… Jiao Ren can’t transform into humans?”

“I’ve never heard of a Jiao Ren transforming into a human.”

A Jiao Ren’s transformation was controlled by its mind.

To hunt fish, it transformed into its hunting form; to blend in, it transformed into a mermaid, but no Jiao Ren would ever want to transform into a human, a creature that couldn’t breathe underwater.

“If you’ve successfully transformed into a human, that might be an undiscovered Jiao Ren ability.”

The Clan Leader was curious: “What made you want to become human?”

“I…” When I wanted to say good night to someone.

The words changed in its mouth: “I needed to be a streamer.”

“I’m sorry, little Jiao Ren, our clan couldn’t protect you, and yet you’re venturing into the unknown to protect us…”

The Clan Leader said worriedly: “Don’t risk going back to human society, you can stay with the clan!”

MuMu shook its head: “My family will be here soon to take me home.”

The Clan Leader sighed and said kindly: “I understand.”

It pointed a wrinkled hand in the direction MuMu’s mother had disappeared: “Take care of yourself.”

“Goodbye, Clan Leader, take care!”

MuMu waved and turned to leave, not wasting a single second, swimming as fast as it could.

MuMu had been captured as a young Jiao Ren and had been able to adapt to the changing environment.

But if MuMu’s mother was captured, taken away from the ocean, she would die in captivity, just like the other Jiao Ren before her.

Faster! Faster!

MuMu followed the Clan Leader’s directions and, near an island, smelled both human and Jiao Ren.

Here!

MuMu abruptly changed direction, not noticing a nearby rock.

“Scrape—”

MuMu swerved to avoid it, but its arm grazed the rock, blood seeping into the water.

The home butler, nearing the island, connected to a weak signal.

The diamond in the ear stud glinted, automatically sending a notification and location to Wen Ming:

“Alert! Mermaid MuMu injured and bleeding, requires immediate treatment, risk of infection and critical condition!”

“Awoo?” Little Butler, what nonsense are you spouting!

The wound was shallow, and MuMu wrapped it with a piece of seaweed.

It doesn’t even hurt as much as being pinched by a crab!

“Oh my god, why is this mermaid suddenly struggling?”

Human voices came from the shore. MuMu stealthily swam closer, observing the situation—

“It finally calmed down for a bit, why is it yelling again, is it not tired yet?”

A mermaid was trapped in a fiber optic net, its tail a gradient of blue, frantically scratching and clawing, crying out.

MuMu’s eyes widened: It’s Mama, in her mermaid form!

She must have smelled MuMu’s blood.

“It won’t even eat the food we gave it, just keeps thrashing around, so annoying!”

“Be patient, we have to deliver it to the Mermaid Center in perfect condition, they specialize in ocean-related mermaids, they pay top dollar!”

“I remember, we caught a very small mermaid on Ocean Star decades ago, haven’t caught anything more valuable since.”

“That’s the poaching business for you, feast or famine…”

MuMu climbed onto the shore, transformed into its human form, and quickly put on the clothes, careful not to alert them.

From their conversation, it learned that these poachers made a living from illegally trading creatures, none of them had legal identification.

Predators lurking in the shadows.

MuMu’s blood boiled, and the wet clothes clinging to its skin only worsened its mood.

“Woo—” Its mother was still crying out.

“Shut up! I wish I could connect with the masked streamer and ask why it’s acting like this even after we fed it.”

“Don’t be stupid, there’s no signal on this planet, we have to warp out before we can livestream.”

“I can’t stand the noise anymore, just suppress it!”

Several mental seascapes targeted the mermaid in the net, pinning it to the ground, unable to move.

The poachers carried it onto the ship and placed it in a water tank, still trapped in the net.

“Tap, tap…”

Just as the poaching ship was about to depart, footsteps approached.

“Who’s there?”

A man with a scar across his face was the first to notice, pulling out a dagger and looking towards the source of the sound warily.

“Are you calling for me?”

MuMu was drenched, water dripping from its clothes, its face wrapped in seaweed, only its eyes, nose, and mouth visible:

“I heard someone call for ‘masked streamer.’ What a coincidence, meeting a fellow netizen on Ocean Star.”

“…What?” The poachers froze.

For a moment, only the sound of waves crashing against the shore could be heard.

“Pfft!” The poacher with the scar burst out laughing, pointing at MuMu. “What kind of lunatic are you? Covering your face with seaweed and calling yourself the masked streamer?”

The other poachers joined in, roaring with laughter:

“If you want to impersonate him, at least get a proper mask, haha!”

“The twin blue moons mask is a bestseller, you can find them everywhere, I’ll buy you one, that seaweed is pathetic!”

MuMu’s gaze settled on Scarface:

He seems to be the one in charge.

“But a mask would get wet in the seawater.” MuMu pretended to be troubled. “Since you don’t need me, I’ll be going then!”

Ignoring their laughter, it turned to leave.

Scarface’s laughter died in his throat, and he instinctively took a step forward: “Wait!”

MuMu turned around, its tone impatient: “What do you want? I’m busy, my viewers are waiting for my livestream, I have to prepare.”

Silence fell over the island again.

Scarface’s mind raced, still skeptical: “What are you doing here? Why are your clothes wet?”

MuMu wrung out its clothes: “Swimming.”

“Swimming with your clothes on?”

MuMu glanced at him: “What’s it to you?”

Scarface’s face twitched: “You little punk, so arrogant…”

“Scarface!”

One of the poachers stopped him: “Something’s not right. The masked streamer is also like this, the comments in his livestream are always chaotic, but he never responds to the negativity!”

“?” MuMu touched its ear stud, puzzled.

Are the comments in my livestream chaotic? There’s negativity?

Scarface’s eyes darted around, and his demeanor changed, forcing a stiff smile:

“Wait a moment, let us discuss this.”

The poachers huddled together, whispering:

“His voice is just like the masked streamer’s, could it be him?”

“Impossible, there’s no signal on Ocean Star, how could he livestream?”

“There is internet access on this island, albeit intermittent.”

“So he always ends his streams abruptly because of the unstable signal?”

“No one has been able to track his IP address. He’s either in a military zone, a high-security residential area, or on a planet with a bad signal!”

“He didn’t even know what Valentine’s Day was, probably some country bumpkin from a remote planet! And Ocean Star is perfect for interacting with aquatic creatures…”

The more they analyzed, the more plausible it seemed, and they exchanged glances, exclaiming in unison:

“Holy crap!”