Hi Master, Little Mermaid Will Support You! 68

Chapter 68

After the employee apologized to MuMu, Wen Ming shifted his focus to the tank, his powerful mental energy a silent warning, incapacitating the employee without causing physical harm.

The reporters instinctively turned their cameras towards Wen Ming: Was this the big news the Marshal wanted them to report, the return of Admiral Wen at his peak?

“Don’t shift your focus!” the Marshal called out. “Look inside the tank—”

“Crack!”

The sound of shattering glass echoed through the room.

Did the Admiral just shatter the tank with his mental seascape?

The reporters aimed their cameras, searching frantically:

“The tank’s fine?”

“Where did the glass break?”

“Strange, I heard the sound, but I can’t see… oh my god, inside the tank!”

Mermaids had appeared as if out of thin air inside the main tank, floating amidst shards of glass. Hearing the commotion above, they cowered and hid behind the artificial decorations.

“Where did they come from?”

They looked at the mermaids MuMu had brought with it, then back at the hidden ones:

“All the mermaids brought for recreation are accounted for, were these hidden in the artificial rocks?”

“They don’t look like they’re here for recreation, they’re so thin, their ribs are showing.”

“Their mental states are also poor, and they all have tags on their ears…”

The reporters’ instincts screamed: There’s a bigger story here!

“Hidden inside the tank?” Xiao Jun was incredulous.

The Marshal explained: “The water circulation system matches the blueprints, except for a few extra pipes inside the tank, they must have been hidden in a compartment.”

“Seems like they modified the tank when rebuilding it after Qi Xuan’s little incident.”

Wen Ming, using precise bursts of energy, gently pushed the glass shards to a corner of the tank, away from the mermaids:

“Clever design, using reflective material to create a hidden compartment, invisible from the outside.”

The reporters crowded around the tank, snapping pictures, their microphones thrust towards the Marshal and Wen Ming:

“Why were these mermaids hidden?”

“Your presence here, does it imply illegal activity?”

“Tagged ears, is the Mermaid Center conducting experiments?”

“Growl!”

MuMu jumped out of the pool, glaring at the reporters.

Wen Ming understood and said sternly: “Turn off your flashes before taking any more pictures.”

The Marshal gestured towards the exit:

“We’ll hold a press conference shortly, you can ask your questions then.

Mermaid owners, due to unforeseen circumstances, please take your mermaids and leave…”

Xiao Jun retrieved Hua Hua and helped the Marshal clear the area.

“Marshal, the reporters are fast, the Mermaid Center management must be alerted by now.”

“Don’t worry, they can’t escape.”

The Marshal raised an eyebrow: “Did you really think this crowd was just here for the show?”

Xiao Jun’s eyes widened in realization: “You have plainclothes officers surrounding the building?”

The Marshal glanced at her optical brain and smiled: “They’ve all been apprehended.”

With Professor Yin, the biggest threat, incapacitated, the others were no match for them.

Xiao Jun breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze falling on Hua Hua’s cage:

“What about… the mermaids Professor Yin was holding?”

The Marshal hesitated: “Too many for the military to handle, we’ll have to find adopters.”

“We can’t put them up for adoption yet.”

The Marshal and Xiao Jun looked at Dai Rong: “Why not?”

“They’re malnourished, traumatized, and injured. We have to rehabilitate them first.”

The Marshal was surprised: “Is your research related to mermaids?”

Xiao Jun: “I thought you were focused on Wen Ming’s treatment.”

“Yes, after Wen Ming’s incident, I shifted to mental seascape research.” Dai Rong explained. “I used to specialize in soothing, so I have some experience with mermaids.”

“Thud! Thud, thud!”

A mermaid cage nearby rattled violently, and Kang Kang’s owner opened the door:

“Kang Kang, just a little longer, I’ll help you with your scales when we get home.”

Dai Rong approached him: “Is your mermaid unwell?”

“It has a neurological condition, it can’t shed its scales on its own.” Kang Kang’s owner sighed. “The masked streamer said not to interfere, I don’t know what to do.”

Dai Rong looked into the cage, showing her Research Institute ID and medical license: “Do you have a diagnosis?”

Kang Kang’s owner nodded and sent it to her optical brain.

“A rare mermaid disease…” Dai Rong pondered. “If you trust me, I can try treating it.”

“You’ve researched mermaids and specialize in rare diseases, this is right up your alley!” Xiao Jun exclaimed.

“Indeed.”

The Marshal, a thoughtful expression on her face, touched the “Mermaid Center” sign on the wall:

“I was just wondering who would take over the medical department after the Center’s restructuring…”

Only Wen Ming and MuMu remained by the tank.

MuMu called out to the water, and a few mermaids cautiously peeked out, then quickly hid again.

“Boo!” Master, your mental seascape is scaring them!

Wen Ming withdrew his energy.

The mermaids still didn’t emerge.

MuMu pushed Wen Ming: “Awoo!” Stay back, they’re timid, like I used to be.

It grabbed a bag of snacks from a nearby shelf and looked at Wen Ming questioningly.

“Give it to them.” Wen Ming said. “But not too much, they’re malnourished.”

“Awoo!”

MuMu excitedly grabbed a handful of snack bags and jumped into the water, its tail swishing.

The mermaids remembered its scent, and one, with a better memory, called out tentatively:

“Number 55?”

“It’s me!” MuMu, for the first time, happily acknowledged the name. “How are you all? Are they still using the electric prods?”

“They haven’t bothered us much lately, especially ‘Master,’ haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Woo, they’re giving us less food, I’m so hungry…”

“There, there, don’t cry.” MuMu sniffled, its face bright with a smile. “Look what I brought you!”

It opened the snack bags, and the mermaids, hiding among the rocks, rushed forward.

“Don’t worry, there’s enough for everyone!”

MuMu had chosen snacks that required chewing, and the mermaids munched contentedly.

“Is, is this really for me…?”

The smallest mermaid, its mouth watering, clutched its snack hesitantly.

It looked around nervously, as if afraid of being watched: “The legged ones don’t let me eat such delicious things.”

The “failures” in the lab tests barely even got low-grade fish food.

MuMu patted its head: “Eat, you’re safe now, no one will lock you up or force you to learn things you don’t understand, and you’ll always have enough to eat.”

“Really!?” The mermaids looked up hopefully. “No more beatings or electric shocks?”

“No!”

MuMu puffed out its chest, making a firm promise: “Someone will love you.”

The mermaids, still slightly bewildered, heard footsteps above and instinctively hid among the rocks.

The home butler received a voice message from Wen Ming: “MuMu, the rescue team is here.”

“Awoo.” Leave it to me.

MuMu infused its words with a sonar command: “Follow me, say goodbye to the past!”

The Jiao Ren command worked on the mermaids, and they followed MuMu to the surface, snacks clutched in their claws.

The rescue team had been told to “rescue a group of traumatized mermaids.”

They placed the nets on the floor and started putting on diving suits:

“We have to go in the water? Can’t we just scoop them up with the nets?”

“Domesticated mermaids don’t mind the nets, but these are different, they’ll hide at the slightest sound.”

“This is going to be difficult.”

“Splash! Splash!”

Before they could even finish putting on their suits, the mermaids, as if hypnotized, lined up and jumped into the nets one by one.

The capture mission was completed effortlessly.

“…Did someone do something?”

“Not me, I was just watching.”

“MuMu.” Wen Ming lifted MuMu and placed it in the scooter. “Are any of them your kind?”

MuMu fiddled with the joystick, the scooter swaying: “Woo.” No.

Jiao Ren could sense each other. MuMu had known all along that it was the only one in the lab.

“Awoo?” Where are they going?

“A company has offered temporary housing.”

MuMu asked anxiously: “Whoo!” What are the conditions like? They’re quite frail.

“They’ll have doctors and professional caretakers.”

“!” That’s great!

MuMu’s joy quickly turned into deeper worry, and it tugged at Wen Ming’s sleeve: “Awoo?”

What’s that company’s motive? They’re not going to exploit them, are they…?

“Don’t worry.” Wen Ming leaned down to kiss it, but seeing other people nearby, he nuzzled its cheek instead.

Just like MuMu had assured the other mermaids, Wen Ming said solemnly:

“Your mermaid friends won’t suffer anymore.”

MuMu’s worries dissipated.

Wen Ming handed it a bag of snacks: “Wait for me here, I’ll finish up and take you home.”

“Awoo, munch, munch…”

Wen Ming went to the rescue team leader: “Take them to Wen Corporation, contact Assistant Xu for further instructions.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

While giving instructions, Wen Ming kept an eye on MuMu. The mission had taken a lot out of the little mermaid, and it was eating snacks with gusto.

A few rescue team members were chatting nearby.

MuMu’s chewing slowed down, then stopped altogether, and it slumped against the scooter, listlessly holding the snack bag.

“…Contact me if there are any problems.” Wen Ming finished his instructions and approached the group.

“Did you see? It’s MuMu! Even cuter than on the packaging!”

“I want one just like it.”

“Can’t afford it, a good mid-grade mermaid costs a fortune.”

“Then get a low-grade one, I heard a fishmonger sold one for a hundred star coins.”

“A hundred? Impossible, even low-grade mermaids aren’t that cheap.”

“Shh—the Admiral’s coming, back to work!”

Wen Ming stopped in front of the scooter: “MuMu?”

“Woo?”

MuMu fidgeted with its claws.

Wen Ming hesitated: “Tired? Let’s go home.”

MuMu perked up at the word “home,” a smile appearing on its face, and it pushed the joystick, driving alongside Wen Ming.

It started chattering in mermaid language:

I’m so lucky I was cheap, so you could bring me home. A hundred star coins for a livestreaming, breadwinning mermaid, what a bargain!

“Beep beep!”

The home butler: “New message from a special contact, view?”

MuMu only had one special contact—

The Wen Corp official account.

It tapped its ear stud: Work already?

“Beep beep, converting text to speech: Streamer, we’ve drafted a new slogan, please read and record it.”

…

The company was efficient. Within days, the masked streamer’s voice echoed across the interstellar world, the backdrop to a new commercial:

“Price is irrelevant, they are the sole comfort to a parched mental seascape.”

“Awoo!” My voice sounds so good!

MuMu replayed the commercial repeatedly, savoring the words. It leaned against the pool wall, rubbing its tail.

Huh? Is it shedding season again?

MuMu examined its tail, but there were no signs of shedding.

Then why is it so itchy…?

Rubbing against the padded wall wasn’t enough, it swam to the artificial rock and rubbed against that too.

Ocean Star.

“I forgot to mention last time—”

The Jiao Ren mother looked towards the surface: “My child’s mating season is approaching.”