Chapter 67
“Everyone line up, don’t swim around randomly, I’ll give you your participation badges.”
MuMu clipped a hair clip onto each mermaid’s head:
“This is your proof of participation, after completing the game, bring it back and claim your snack reward.”
“Okay!”
“I’ll keep it safe, I’m so excited, when do we start?”
MuMu tapped its ear stud, speaking into the voice channel:
“Awoo, boo.” Group C is ready!
“Good, Group C ready, Group A commence operation.”
“Roger.” Xiao Jun and Dai Rong replied in unison.
They followed the map provided by the Marshal and found the Mermaid Center’s monitoring room.
“Who’s there?”
The employee inside was alert, pointing in a direction: “The recreational area is that way, no unauthorized personnel allowed here.”
“I’m from the Research Institute, here for a lab exchange.” Dai Rong showed her identification.
“The lab isn’t in this direction either.”
Dai Rong sighed: “The person who was supposed to meet me was reassigned to security duty at the entrance, your treatment of visitors is appalling.”
“We’re short-staffed today with all the customers.”
The employee stepped out of the monitoring room to give her directions.
“Which way after this turn?” Dai Rong asked, a confused expression on her face. “I have a terrible sense of direction.”
The employee drew a simple map for her.
While he was looking down, Xiao Jun slipped into the monitoring room.
Within seconds, he disabled the alarm system for the mermaid recreational area.
“Impressive, as expected of a former communications specialist.”
Xiao Jun, hearing the Marshal’s praise through his optical brain, rubbed his nose: “Now it’s up to you guys.”
“Group A mission complete.” The Marshal shifted her focus. “Group C, begin.”
“Bang!”
MuMu extended its Jiao Ren claws, tearing a hole in the water circulation system’s inlet filter.
The disabled alarm remained silent.
MuMu waved its claws: “Awoo!” Mermaids, the adventure begins!
Following MuMu’s instructions, the mermaids swam into the pipes one by one.
A mermaid owner, hearing the sound, turned towards the tank…
“Everyone, pay attention!”
Wen Ming suddenly raised his voice, a commanding tone that instantly recaptured their attention.
He lifted a strand of synthetic hair: “This next step is crucial, it determines the final look of the braid.”
The mermaid owners listened intently.
Meanwhile, all the mermaids except MuMu had entered the water circulation system…
The plan to find the missing mermaids could be summarized in one sentence:
Humans provide support, mermaids do the “fighting.”
Dai Rong, Xiao Jun, and Wen Ming created the opportunity, and the mermaids did the searching.
Each hair clip had a tracking device.
MuMu’s rules for the “Mermaid Adventure”:
Follow the current, split up at intersections, each mermaid exploring a different path.
Dozens of glowing dots, representing the mermaids’ trackers, appeared on the Marshal’s optical brain.
“Wen Ming was right, mermaids are incredibly sensitive to water flow, they’re amazing.”
Each dot, following a different current, created a 3D map of the Mermaid Center’s water circulation system.
The Marshal stared at their trajectories: “With so many mermaids, they must be hidden in a large water reservoir not shown on the map…”
Silence fell over the voice channel.
Everyone waited, afraid to interrupt the Marshal’s train of thought.
Every second was agonizing. MuMu, guarding the inlet, repeated silently:
Faster, faster…
“Huh? Something’s strange in the tank.”
Someone entered the recreational area, pushing a mermaid cage.
The mermaid owners, captivated by Wen Ming’s braiding demonstration, turned to look:
“Where are the mermaids?”
MuMu’s scales twitched, and it held its breath: Oh no…
Wen Ming made a calming gesture:
“I saw them playing hide-and-seek earlier.”
MuMu played along, swimming to the artificial rock, pretending to search for the mermaids, peeking into every crevice.
It even feigned surprise upon “finding” a mermaid, rushing into a cave as if giving chase.
I’ll definitely win “Best Actor” at the next awards ceremony.
Most of the mermaid owners were convinced: “Is MuMu the only one searching? Haha!”
“They’re hiding really well…”
“Mermaids aren’t exactly subtle, they’d be sticking their tails out of the caves, how can I not see a single one?”
MuMu’s act was about to crumble.
It frantically winked at Wen Ming: Master, I can’t keep this up!
Wen Ming quickly scanned the room, his gaze settling on the person who had just entered with the mermaid cage:
“Are you Kang Kang’s owner?”
Most of the mermaid owners were here to see Kang Kang, arriving early and entering before the recreational area reached capacity.
They gathered around Kang Kang’s owner, looking into the cage:
“Is that really Kang Kang?”
“I didn’t see it in the tank, I thought it wasn’t here, why is it in a cage?”
MuMu slumped against the artificial rock in relief.
Kang Kang, you’re a lifesaver!
Kang Kang’s owner explained: “We were surrounded by fans at the entrance, just managed to get in.”
“They’re all here because of the masked streamer’s livestream.”
“How’s Kang Kang now, is its tail still itchy?”
A rhythmic thudding came from the cage. Kang Kang’s owner said:
“It’s still struggling to shed its scales, listen, it’s bumping against the cage because rubbing its tail isn’t working.”
“Poor thing…”
The mermaid owners sympathized.
Kang Kang had bought them precious time.
A triumphant voice finally echoed through the voice channel:
“I’ve found them!”
The Marshal, having pinpointed the mermaids’ location, said calmly: “MuMu, recall the mermaids.”
“Awoo!”
MuMu emitted a sonar signal towards the water circulation inlet:
[Mermaids, game over, come back!]
The current in the pipes suddenly shifted.
Following the sonar signal, the mermaids returned, emerging from the pipes one by one.
“That was fun!”
“Haven’t had such a good swim in a while.”
“Where do we get our snacks?”
The mermaids lined up in front of MuMu.
“Is everyone here?” MuMu asked sternly. “Count off, from left to right!”
The mermaids, disorganized as ever, whispered among themselves: “What does that mean? ‘Treasure Tree,’ is that the name of the snack?”
“Count off means saying numbers in order, 1, 2, 3, so I can count you.” MuMu explained.
Several mermaids, seemingly understanding, shouted “One!” simultaneously.
MuMu: ?
The mermaids who had shouted “one” looked at each other, confused, and started arguing:
“Left to right! My name is Left Left, I go first!”
“Are you stupid? I’m on the far left, I say ‘one’!”
“You’re both wrong, I’m on the left!”
MuMu’s eye twitched: “Stop arguing, I’ve already counted…”
It collected the hair clips: “Wait here, I’ll get your food.”
MuMu swam to the surface, where Dai Rong and Xiao Jun were waiting.
“Awoo, awoo.” Here are the trackers.
“Good, here’s your crab cake.”
Mission reward for the “main force”: one crab cake per mermaid.
Xiao Jun watched the mermaids excitedly claim their rewards, shaking his head:
“So easily bribed, completing a mission of this level, and they’re satisfied with snacks.”
Dai Rong asked dryly: “Did you get a reward?”
“…Damn it, I didn’t even get a crab cake.” Xiao Jun smacked his forehead. “I’m the cheapest one here.”
The sound of a mermaid cage approaching.
The mermaid owners, surrounding Kang Kang, brought it to the tank entrance. Wen Ming was among them.
He exchanged glances with Dai Rong and Xiao Jun, listening to the Marshal’s announcement in the voice channel:
“Mission accomplished, good work, everyone!”
Wen Ming looked down at the tank—
MuMu was spinning joyfully, pulling Hua Hua along in a mermaid dance.
“They did a great job.” Xiao Jun asked Wen Ming, “Should I call MuMu over? I can use the voice channel…”
“No need.”
Wen Ming dipped his finger into the water.
MuMu, mid-dance, froze, then shot towards the surface like a torpedo.
Xiao Jun instinctively dodged the splash, and when he opened his eyes, MuMu was nuzzling Wen Ming’s hand.
“It smelled you just from your finger?” Xiao Jun was amazed. “Are mermaids’ noses that sensitive?”
Wen Ming didn’t reply.
“Awoo!” You’re wearing the ocean perfume today!
MuMu buried its nose in Wen Ming’s palm, inhaling deeply: “Whoo…” Smells so good.
Dai Rong saw through Wen Ming’s “trick,” teasing:
“MuMu’s nose is only this sensitive to him.”
Xiao Jun: ?
MuMu: ?
Wen Ming shifted his hand, blocking MuMu’s view of the others:
“Are you tired?”
“Woo.” A little.
MuMu gestured with its claws: “Awoo?” Can I have an extra fish today? And maybe a crab too…? It started listing its desired menu items.
Wen Ming agreed to everything, stroking the tip of its ear.
Xiao Jun’s eyes widened: “Why are you touching its ear? A mermaid’s ears are sensitive, they don’t like being touched.”
MuMu narrowed its eyes at him: Want to touch it too?
It turned and yelled: “Awoo!” Hua Hua!
Hua Hua rushed over: “Awoo?” Big Brother, you called?
Xiao Jun, thinking Hua Hua had come for him, was touched and reached for its ear: “Hua Hua, you’re so thoughtful, just a quick touch.”
“Growl!” Little brother, watch your hands, what do you think you’re doing?
Hua Hua bared its teeth at Xiao Jun and dove underwater.
Xiao Jun retracted his hand, looking at Wen Ming and MuMu with a complex expression: “I’m such an idiot, trying to imitate your special bond…”
The group voice channel had ended, switching to a private call between Wen Ming and the Marshal.
Wen Ming listened for a moment, then said softly: “MuMu, have all the mermaids come to the surface.”
“Awoo.”
Kang Kang’s owner opened the cage, about to place it in the tank, when Wen Ming stopped him.
The mermaid owners were puzzled: “Admiral, what’s this about?”
Before they could ask, their mermaids surfaced.
MuMu directed them, one by one, to jump into the adjacent pool.
“Awoo!” Master, all mermaids present and accounted for.
A Mermaid Center employee noticed the commotion and rushed over, yelling:
“MuMu! What are you doing!?”
So mean.
MuMu pouted and hid behind Wen Ming.
The employee suddenly felt a crushing weight on his shoulders, as if an entire planet had landed on him.
His legs trembled as he said, forcing himself to sound confident:
“Please control your mermaid, even if MuMu is famous, it can’t just cause chaos in public!”
The employee felt secure.
They were on the top floor, where mental seascape use was prohibited.
Even if Wen Ming used his mental seascape, so what?
A damaged mental seascape was irreversible, no matter how well he seemed on the surface, his energy was weak.
The employee continued to scold MuMu: “Such a popular mermaid, leading others astray, even mermaids become arrogant when they’re famous, huh…”
“Bang!”
Someone kicked open the door and stormed in.
The Marshal, followed by a group of reporters, their cameras aimed at the tank.
The employee was stunned: “What are you doing?”
“We’re here to expose the Mermaid Center’s secrets.” The Marshal gestured towards Wen Ming. “Wen Ming, if you please.”
An eerie silence fell, centered around Wen Ming.
The employee clutched his throat, struggling to breathe.
His momentary suffocation was replaced by a more terrifying sensation—
Wen Ming unleashed his mental seascape.
The mermaids in the pool sank to the bottom, huddled together, trembling;
The mermaid owners scrambled back, afraid of being caught in the energy field;
The Marshal also activated her mental seascape, shielding the reporters so they could continue filming…
Everyone found a way to protect themselves, except the employee, who couldn’t even move a finger.
Overwhelmed by terror, his first thought was: Why is Wen Ming using his mental seascape near the tanks?
His second thought: What Wen Ming? Admiral Wen is back.
The God of War has returned.
“Thud.”
His legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees.
A warm wetness spread through his pants, and he clutched his crotch, trembling.
He had lost control of his bladder…
“I’m sorry, sir…”
The employee lowered his head, understanding the message in Wen Ming’s eyes.
He turned to the pool, bowing even lower: “MuMu, I’m sorry!”
Even a popular mermaid wasn’t someone he could afford to offend.
Because it had the most powerful human in the interstellar world as its protector.
