Chapter 57
This was the least productive day in Wen Corporation’s history.
Hours into the workday, Wen Ming and Assistant Xu were nowhere to be seen. Just as the employees were wondering, Assistant Xu finally arrived—
Followed by a mermaid curiously looking around.
“…Huh?”
“Could that be!?”
“Holy crap, this is what it feels like to meet your idol, my heart’s racing!”
The employees initially kept their distance, afraid of startling the mermaid, but their excitement was palpable.
To their surprise, the mermaid wasn’t afraid at all and even waved at them politely:
“Awoo, gurgle!” Hello, my name is MuMu!
Soon, everyone, regardless of their work station, had gathered around.
“Don’t crowd! Hey!” Assistant Xu was pushed to the outer circle.
“MuMu, are you okay?”
MuMu smiled at him from afar: “Roar!” So many people like me!
“…” Assistant Xu, seeing it enjoying the attention, waited patiently.
“Really!?”
Assistant Xu recognized the voice and turned to greet the Marshal and Wen Ming, warning: “Marshal, your expression…”
The Marshal, her jaw slack, was in shock:
“You’re all okay with a ‘mermaid signing autographs’? The adaptability of Wen Corporation employees is truly remarkable.”
Assistant Xu chuckled nervously: “MuMu has always been our unofficial mascot, everyone’s just excited to see it.”
“It seems it’s doing well in human society, I was worried for nothing.”
The Marshal clapped Assistant Xu on the shoulder and said goodbye: “I won’t disturb your work!”
Used to giving commands, her voice was loud and clear, echoing through the office.
Assistant Xu instinctively straightened up, and the employees surrounding MuMu also turned to look. Seeing Wen Ming, they quickly dispersed, returning to their workstations.
MuMu, which had just dipped its claw in the ink pad, looked up, its “fans” suddenly gone:
“Woo…” Where did everyone go? No more autographs?
“I want one, give it to me.”
Wen Ming stopped in front of the scooter.
MuMu’s mood soared like a rocket: “Awoo!” Master!
It placed its claw on Wen Ming’s hand without hesitation:
Wipe it clean!
For the first time in Wen Corporation’s history, a creature had so boldly “commanded” Wen Ming.
Assistant Xu gasped and grabbed a wet wipe from a nearby desk: “MuMu, I’ll wipe it for you… ahem.”
His years of experience in the corporate world kicked in, and he quickly corrected himself: “Or, would you prefer to do it yourself, Admiral?”
Wen Ming, his gaze shifting from Assistant Xu, took a new wipe and meticulously cleaned MuMu’s claw.
“?” MuMu observed everything.
Since this person delegated the task to Master, it means Master’s position in the company is lower than his—
No wonder Master doesn’t earn much despite working at such a nice company…
MuMu opened its bag and proudly presented something to Wen Ming:
“Ta-da!” I earned star coins too!
It was a product package with the Wen Corp logo and a high-resolution picture of MuMu taken by the photographer.
Wen Ming: ?
Assistant Xu quickly explained: “This is a draft of the new packaging, with the spokesperson’s image…”
“Spokesperson?” Wen Ming interrupted.
“MuMu received the highest score in the auditions. Once you approve, it will be officially selected.”
Wen Ming paused, looking at MuMu: “You came here today for the spokesperson audition?”
“Awoo!” I was also worried about your mental seascape!
MuMu scratched Wen Ming’s palm: “Whoo.” Approve it, approve it.
Wen Ming held its hand, stopping its fidgeting: “Do you want to be the spokesperson?”
MuMu nodded eagerly.
“Okay.” Wen Ming approved the proposal on his optical brain.
Assistant Xu handed him a contract: “This is for you to sign as the mermaid’s owner…”
Wen Ming took the contract and browsed through it, but didn’t sign.
Assistant Xu hadn’t expected to pass the CEO’s approval only to be stuck at the owner’s.
He nervously recalled the contract’s contents: “We can negotiate any terms you’re not satisfied with.”
MuMu tugged at Wen Ming’s sleeve: “Awoo?” You just agreed, are you going back on your word?
“MuMu, you’re the spokesperson, you should be the one signing the contract, right?”
Wen Ming placed the contract on the scooter: “I’ve reviewed it, the terms are good, you can sign it if you’re happy with it.”
MuMu rubbed its hands together nervously: “Woo?” Can I?
“Can it?” Assistant Xu’s voice trembled. “Matters concerning mermaids are usually decided by their owners.”
“I don’t have the right to decide for MuMu.” Wen Ming patted its back encouragingly. “I know you’ve been practicing at home, communicate with him yourself, okay?”
MuMu’s expression turned serious. It pulled out its residency permit from its bag and straightened up, facing Assistant Xu:
“Awoo, gurgle.” Hello, my name is MuMu, this is my residency permit.
A residency permit was equivalent to a temporary ID, granting the holder official status in human society.
MuMu’s permit had been processed hastily, and it hadn’t had a proper photo taken, so it had used a selfie of its mermaid form.
The close-up selfie stared intently at Assistant Xu.
Assistant Xu became cross-eyed trying to meet its gaze:
“Uh… Mr. MuMu, congratulations on passing the audition. We’d like to offer you a contract to be our spokesperson, do you accept?”
“Awoo!” Yes!
MuMu put away its residency permit and pressed a red claw print on the contract’s signature line.
…
From that day on, customers buying Wen Corporation’s mermaid products noticed something unusual—
There was a blue mermaid on the packaging.
Beside the picture, just like on human-endorsed products, it said:
Spokesmodel: MuMu (claw print)
The name “MuMu,” just like “masked streamer,” quickly became a sensation across the interstellar world.
#”More than just looks, it has spirit,” the notoriously picky photographer praised a certain fish!#
#From low-grade mermaid to top star, the most inspiring story in the interstellar world!#
#Wen Corporation’s sales explode again, a textbook example of successful spokesperson selection.#
The top trending topic was even more eye-catching:
#The person behind mermaid celebrity MuMu is actually—#
Wen Ming’s StarNet Circle followers increased a hundredfold overnight.
Every picture he posted of MuMu became a gathering place for its fans.
“Admiral Wen is back! From Admiral to CEO, now the most popular pet blogger, a true crossover king. /Thumbs up/”
“MuMu is so beautiful! So lively and confident in front of the camera, I fell in love instantly!”
“Not just humans, mermaids love it too.
Wen Corporation’s floating water balls also have MuMu’s picture, and my mermaid is playing with a toy for the first time.”
…
MuMu was famous, but it didn’t know.
It was busy practicing its signature at home.
It didn’t want to use a claw print next time a fan asked for an autograph.
“Awoo!” I’ll be the first literate Jiao Ren in the interstellar world!
Full of ambition, MuMu drew a character on the paper and proudly patted its ear stud:
“Hmph!” Little Butler, look, isn’t my writing good?
The home butler replied after a few seconds: “Beep beep, scanning talisman…”
The pen in MuMu’s claw clattered to the floor.
“What talisman? That’s the character ‘Mu,’ can’t you tell?”
MuMu transformed into its human form and picked up the pen: “Mermaid claws aren’t good for holding pens, let me write it again, I’ll impress you.”
Its human fingers were much more dexterous, and it carefully copied the character from a children’s educational video projected on the wall:
Mian (face).
“I’ll use this character instead of ‘masked streamer,’ hopefully fans won’t think it’s too simple, the other characters are too complicated…”
“Are you planning to sign autographs for your fans?” The home butler’s intelligent search function activated. “Detected an invitation to an awards ceremony in your private messages, an opportunity to meet your fans.”
“An invitation? Let me hear it.”
“Masked Streamer, greetings:
Congratulations on being awarded the Most Influential Streamer of the Year. The awards ceremony will be held on [date], you are cordially invited to attend!”
“Do I have to go?” MuMu hesitated. “I’m not very proficient at being human yet, I’m not ready to go out… can I still get the award if I don’t attend?”
Home butler: “Yes, attending the ceremony is just for media exposure and publicity.”
‘Go to human society, gain equal standing with him, and meet him again, as a human.’
‘My child is so capable, you can do it.’
MuMu nervously fidgeted with its fingers and said:
“Little Butler, can you contact the sender of the invitation?”
On the day of the awards ceremony, fans who followed the masked streamer received a notification, but the livestream was just a black screen.
[Open the door, open the door!]
[Streamer, it’s time for work! First time seeing a black screen, is everything alright?]
“Wait, how do you turn on the virtual screen again…” the masked streamer muttered softly.
The video feed spun wildly before stabilizing.
[Confirmed, the streamer isn’t even good at using an optical brain, he must have come from some isolated paradise.]
[Not sure about paradise, but he’s definitely outdoors!?]
[Finally, a change from that boring background, is the streamer switching to outdoor livestreaming?]
“Yes, there’s been a change of plans. I’m attending the livestreaming platform’s awards ceremony, on my way there now.”
[Ahhh, I’m heading there now, I’ll wait outside!]
[I knew it! That’s why he’s wearing a suit, so handsome!]
[Is the streamer lost? He’s been wandering around the same area since the livestream started.]
“I’m not lost, I’ll take an air taxi later, the platform is reimbursing travel expenses, hee hee.”
The masked streamer smoothed the wrinkles on his suit with a silly grin: “They gave me this suit too, free shipping, they’re such nice people.”
[No! You’re too naive, you’ll be kidnapped! /Pulling hair/]
[A livestream full of expensive gifts, and the streamer is only excited about the travel reimbursement. /Tearing up/]
[Will there be mermaid language translation this time, or just chatting?]
“I started the livestream to ask for your help.”
The masked streamer’s stomach rumbled: “I forgot to bring snacks, can anyone recommend a restaurant? Preferably seafood.”
[Livestream version of a food review app.]
[Restaurant owners, buy comments now! Free advertising!]
[I know a place, the food is amazing, I’ve been craving it ever since I tried it, the best seafood I’ve ever had!]
“Okay, let’s go to that restaurant!” MuMu’s mouth watered. “Where is it?”
Ten minutes later, MuMu stood before a row of street food stalls, looking confused.
“That’s not the kind of seafood I meant, I haven’t tried those before…”
Squid sizzled on a hot plate.
MuMu gulped: “…Boss, five skewers please.”
Human seafood is so delicious!
MuMu is so cute~~