Chapter 66
When Wen Ming returned home, he picked up the grid paper and tried to decipher the messy characters:
“Learned two characters? Well done.”
MuMu, overjoyed, swam in circles: “Awoo!”
“These two characters are…”
Each character was a blob of ink. Wen Ming pondered:
“Glutton?”
“…” The little mermaid snatched the paper, its face crumpled, and submerged it in the water, destroying the evidence. It glared at Wen Ming resentfully.
Wen Ming hesitated: “Could it be… my name?”
“Hmph.” Can’t even recognize your own name. MuMu dove underwater.
A mermaid’s claws looked similar to human hands, but they were clumsy. They couldn’t even brush their own hair, let alone write, their claws trembling when holding a pen.
MuMu blew bubbles underwater:
“Gurgle.” It’s okay, I’ll practice secretly in mermaid form and amaze everyone when I transform!
Wen Ming retrieved the soggy paper: “MuMu, I didn’t look closely enough, I’ll recognize them next time.”
MuMu rolled its eyes underwater: “Growl!” There won’t be a next time, I’m not writing for you anymore!
“I’m sorry, I was wrong,” Wen Ming apologized smoothly. “I brought you a gift, will you forgive me?”
A gift?
The water rippled as MuMu surfaced, its ears perked up in anticipation.
Wen Ming opened a package, revealing a square box with a seashell pattern. MuMu leaned against the padded wall: “Whoo!” What’s that?
Wen Ming carefully cleaned the box and placed it in the mermaid pool.
“Whoa!” MuMu rushed over to catch it.
But the box didn’t sink, floating steadily on the surface.
Wen Ming demonstrated how to open it: “It’s inconvenient for you to reach the snack shelf, you can keep your snacks in here and access them from the water.”
A storage box.
MuMu nodded, playing with the box, then froze.
A storage box!?
It glanced at the artificial rock, realizing: My secret stash is overflowing, perfect timing!
MuMu excitedly pushed the box behind the rock, then poked its head out: “Awoo?” You said it was a gift, right?
Wen Ming’s eyes crinkled with amusement: “Yes, it’s yours, I won’t touch it.”
“Splash!”
The little mermaid’s tail thrashed joyfully, its happiness infectious.
“Wow!” I love this gift, and I love you even more! MuMu hugged Wen Ming’s arm, nuzzling against him.
It noticed another package by his feet and pointed: “Woo?”
“Custom-made hair clips.” Wen Ming opened the bag.
“Awoo!” Another gift for me?
MuMu looked inside—
Dozens of identical hair clips.
“?” Why so many of the same one? MuMu touched its head. “Woo.” I only have one head.
“MuMu, we’re going to the Mermaid Center this Sunday.”
MuMu froze.
How does Master know I’m going to the Mermaid Center to help Kang Kang?
I was planning to go in human form, then secretly transform…
Did he figure out I’m the masked streamer?
MuMu tried to appear natural, but its shifty eyes betrayed its anxiety:
“Woo?” Why?
Wen Ming crouched down, meeting its gaze: “Remember the mermaids you were with in the lab?”
MuMu’s pupils constricted.
“They’re still trapped at the Mermaid Center, but we haven’t been able to pinpoint their location.”
Wen Ming extended a hand: “Little Jiao Ren, we need your help, and the help of the other mermaids. Will you assist us?”
MuMu placed its claws on his hand, its expression urgent:
“Whoo, whoo!” Of course! Tell me what to do!
Sunday, Mermaid Center.
“Oh my god, so many people!”
Xiao Jun’s voice echoed through the group chat’s voice channel, tinged with panic:
“Stop pushing! Someone stepped on my foot! Dai Rong, where are you?”
Dai Rong said gracefully: “I just took the mermaids to the recreational area, look to your right, enter through the small door.”
Xiao Jun, after much struggle, finally made it through the crowd, breathless.
Dai Rong: “Group A has assembled.”
“Group B in position, although it’s just me.” The Marshal’s voice.
She observed the massive crowd outside the Mermaid Center:
“The masked streamer translated for a mermaid named Kang Kang, and its owner is bringing it here today, so all these fans are curious.”
Xiao Jun was puzzled: “If it’s so crowded, why today?”
“Precisely because it’s crowded! Chaos is the best cover.”
The Marshal explained: “Look, most of the security personnel are outside managing the crowd.”
Xiao Jun: “Marshal, should we switch tasks? I can monitor remotely, you come here, the crowd will part for you, we’ll finish faster.”
“I’ve investigated the Mermaid Center too many times, they’re suspicious of me.
And we’re not the main players in this operation, slow and steady wins the race.”
The Marshal’s tone turned serious: “How’s the ‘main event’ going? Group C, in position at the recreational area?”
Wen Ming’s low voice: “In position.”
Followed by a slightly nervous mermaid cry:
“Awoo!” I’m in position too!
Marshal: “Good, everyone get ready, wait for my command.”
Xiao Jun, Dai Rong, Wen Ming: “Roger.”
MuMu: “Awoo.”
MuMu tapped its ear stud, muting its microphone.
It took a deep breath, and a string of bubbles surfaced in the recreational area’s tank.
MuMu clutched its chest, its heart racing:
My first high-stakes mission, so nervous!
“Big Brother!” Hua Hua swam towards it. “Big Brother, what’s wrong? Hang in there, who will protect me if you die?”
“What? Is a mermaid dying?”
The other mermaids in the tank, alarmed by Hua Hua’s shout, gathered around MuMu.
Hua Hua shook MuMu’s shoulders, attempting CPR: “I’ll save you, just hold on!”
MuMu wrenched itself free, dizzy: “Hua Hua?”
“Big Brother, I’m here!”
“Promise me, never ‘rescue’ another mermaid again.”
Hua Hua swished its tail sheepishly: “Are you saying we’re the bestest best friends in the galaxy?”
“No, you can’t traumatize other mermaids anymore.” MuMu said firmly.
“But you just flicked your fin at me, that’s a sign of affection between mermaids.”
“I was annoyed.”
MuMu looked down at its fin: “Too bad only mermaids understand fin flicking. If I do that to Master, he’ll just ask if the water temperature is wrong…”
“Master? The legged one?”
Hua Hua’s voice was even louder than before: “Big Brother, are you crazy? How can you flick your fin at a legged one!?”
The surrounding mermaids murmured disapprovingly:
“You can’t be too nice to legged ones, it’s common mermaid knowledge.”
“That’s right, the colder you are, the more food and toys you get, otherwise they’ll get free soothing and stop giving us anything!”
A mermaid approached MuMu: “You haven’t done anything to express affection to your legged one, have you?”
MuMu absently touched its ear stud: “No.”
I can’t argue with them, the mission is about to start.
But the mermaids wouldn’t let it go: “Really?”
“I can vouch for him!”
A mermaid swam forward, shielding MuMu.
Gratitude welled up in MuMu’s heart: “Xiao Yu!”
Dai Rong’s mermaid, the one that had soothed Wen Ming.
“I’ve seen him with his legged one, no signs of affection whatsoever.”
Xiao Yu pointed at MuMu: “He just licks his legged one’s lips frantically and bites him until he bleeds, that’s all.”
“…Xiao Yu, you…?”
Xiao Yu’s testimony was effective, and the mermaids’ tone immediately changed:
“Sorry, we misunderstood, it’s good that you didn’t flick your fin at your legged one.”
“Licking his lips frantically? Is that the latest begging technique?”
“I’ll try it when I get back…”
“Don’t you dare!”
MuMu’s shout silenced everyone: “That method doesn’t work, I’m a bad example!”
What if I corrupt these mermaids…?
It quickly added: “Really, trust me!”
“I trust you.”
A timid mermaid emerged from behind the artificial rock:
“I did the belly-up float you taught us, and my legged one gives me snacks every time.”
The other mermaids who had participated in the Soothing Competition also remembered:
“That’s right, this blue mermaid is amazing, following its instructions gets us food.”
“Then I trust you too, what’s the best way to get food?”
Hua Hua puffed out its chest: “Big Brother, we’ll follow your commands!”
MuMu cleared its throat and opened its bag, which was full of hair clips:
“We’re playing a game, participants will be rewarded with snacks, sign up now!”
“I’m in!”
“Me first!”
Hua Hua was the first to swim to MuMu, followed by a long line of mermaids.
Outside the tank, the mermaid owners exclaimed:
“Wow, MuMu is here at the recreational area today!”
“The mermaids seem to be listening to MuMu, are they playing a queuing game?”
“Since MuMu is here, that means—”
Everyone cautiously glanced at Wen Ming.
Today, the “vacuum zone” around him was even larger.
Before, people avoided him because of his aloofness; now, it was fear.
Wen Ming’s mental seascape was still damaged, but it was no longer a barren wasteland, it was nearing its peak strength, filled with energy.
They had no doubt that he could shatter the multi-story tank with a single burst of energy…
The strongest mental seascape in the interstellar world, had returned!
How did he recover?
The mermaid owners looked back and forth between Wen Ming and MuMu in the tank, but no one dared to ask.
“MuMu is a low-grade mermaid.”
Wen Ming, as if reading their minds, spoke up: “My mother developed a new medicine that stabilized my mental seascape.”
Everyone exchanged glances:
Admiral Wen’s mental seascape has not only recovered, but he’s also more approachable now?
The “vacuum zone” shrunk, and a few bolder mermaid owners approached:
“Congratulations on your recovery, Admiral, you’re my idol!”
Wen Ming remained impassive: “Thank you.”
The person, discouraged, changed the subject: “Although MuMu’s soothing isn’t strong, it has a great personality, I really like it.”
“Thank you.” Wen Ming’s expression softened.
He’s more approachable when talking about MuMu!
Everyone discovered the “secret” and started praising MuMu:
“My mermaid hasn’t played with others in a while, thanks to MuMu for bringing them all together.”
“I feel so at ease leaving my mermaid with MuMu.”
“MuMu’s hairstyle is so cute today, so intricate, I wish I could braid like that.”
Wen Ming’s gaze settled on the person who mentioned the hairstyle:
“I can teach you.”
“!?” The mermaid owners froze, then eagerly surrounded Wen Ming. “Really?”
The “vacuum” was completely shattered. Wen Ming took out a mannequin head and started braiding the synthetic hair:
“I’ll demonstrate step by step, there are many steps, so pay attention.”
“We won’t miss a thing!”
“A professional mermaid hairstylist, he even has a practice mannequin.”
“Wait, let me get my notebook, I’ll try this at home!”
All the mermaid owners were captivated.
Wen Ming whispered into his optical brain: “Group C, mission proceeding smoothly.”
“Awoo!” MuMu in the tank immediately instructed the mermaids. “Now’s your chance, go!”
