The Little Mermaid Fell for the Jiaoren 27

Chapter 27: Hello

The unconscious little merman was well taken care of. By the time the tranquilizer had metabolized out of Deng Xi’s system, a full day had passed.

He had slept for a very, very long time.

When he woke up again, he only vaguely remembered that he seemed to have had a sweet dream, his stomach was full, and he seemed to have seen the little mute.

Deng Xi looked out through the water tank. He had been moved to a larger, transparent water tank. The outside had once again become an unfamiliar environment. The surrounding walls were silver-white, large, neat, and empty, with only him.

The lock ring on Deng Xi’s neck was gone, his strength had returned, and his stomach was no longer hungry. Because he had slept for too long, he was now very energetic.

He looked at the quiet surroundings.

Now it was just him, and there was nothing locking him up. Could he sneak away?

Deng Xi swam out of the water and peered over the edge of the water tank. He then looked down at the height of the water tank from the ground and cheered himself on in his heart.

It’s okay!

It won’t hurt for long if I fall from this height!

Deng Xi closed his eyes and was about to use his tail fin to strike the water and bravely leap out when a “ding—” suddenly sounded in the quiet space. His blue eyes instantly opened warily and looked over.

The door to the room was unlocked and opened automatically.

A brown-haired woman in a white trench coat stood at the door, knocked on the cabin door, and smiled slightly. “Hello, may I come in?”

It was that strange species again.

Deng Xi remembered the very, very ugly big bad guy he had seen in the ocean. These creatures who had captured the little mute, who were called “people,” were all big bad guys.

Deng Xi took a deep breath, slowly withdrew his hand, and pretended to be obedient as he swam under the water, not wanting the other party to discover his intention to escape, while carefully backing away.

The brown-haired woman sensitively detected the emotion of the blue-tail in the water tank. He was very wary of her. She stood by the door and did not come in any further, maintaining a safe distance from the blue-tail. She said in a friendly voice, “Don’t be afraid, no one will hurt you anymore.”

She introduced herself, “I am the psychologist assigned to you by the Imperial Research Institute, and I will also be your guide in the future.”

“You can call me Aier.”

“Every alien who has been captured like you will be under the protection of the Empire in the future and will not be harmed in any way. Please don’t worry.”

The unfamiliar and obscure language was automatically translated in his mind. Deng Xi didn’t understand many of the proper nouns, but the merman could sensitively perceive the emotions the other party was releasing.

Peaceful and friendly.

Very safe.

Deng Xi hesitated for a moment before slowly swimming closer, quietly meeting Aier’s gaze through the water tank.

Only then did Aier walk into the cabin. “Don’t be nervous. This is a post-war psychological evaluation that everyone needs to do. You just need to answer a few simple questions.”

Deng Xi blinked his blue eyes and pursed his lips without making a sound.

Aier smiled helplessly. “Alright, I’ll start asking questions.”

Aier: “Have you been hurt?”

Deng Xi hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

He was not injured, not bleeding.

Aier: “How many days have you been captured?”

Deng Xi shook his head again.

He had not been conscious, so he couldn’t remember.

Aier: “You forgot? Then do you remember which galaxy your family is in? Do you have their contact information?”

Family?

Deng Xi was quiet for a long time before he slowly shook his head.

His only kinsman was the little mute, but he didn’t know where the little mute was now.

Aier sighed. “Alright, I understand. I have one last question.” She asked, “Can you still speak normally?”

Deng Xi nodded.

Aier also smiled slightly, indicating that she understood. “My questions are over. Get some rest.”

She turned and walked towards the door.

“Wait, wait.”

Deng Xi suddenly said. The words he spoke were in an unfamiliar language. Because he had only heard it once, it was a bit obscure when he replicated it, and his pronunciation was a bit slow.

But Deng Xi still tried his best to use the merman’s special talent, learning to speak. “The aliens who were captured like me…” He strung the words he had memorized into a complete sentence. “Can I… take a look?”

Aier smiled. “When you get to the research institute, you’ll have a chance.”

Research institute? What was that?

Deng Xi secretly memorized these three words. Could the captured little mute be in there?

Aier closed the cabin door. After isolating the sound and sight from inside, she pressed the back of her ear and reported in a low voice into the earpiece, “His condition is very bad.”

“He is very resistant to me and is very reluctant to talk to me. He is very wary and guarded against unfamiliar environments and people. This state is not normal.”

Aier continued, “He can be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, but unlike you, his symptoms are very mild. Just don’t let him come into contact with anything related to this auction in the future.”

“I’ve also seen his medical records. Although he stayed in your high-level treatment pod for a long time, because of the prolonged hunger,” Aier frowned slightly, “he has mild gastritis. It’s best not to let him eat stimulating food. Besides that, there are no other external injuries.”

“The most urgent situation now is his mental health.”

Only then did a cold male voice come from the earpiece, “How should he be treated?”

Aier asked, “He doesn’t remember where his family is. Perhaps it would be better to let him stay with his companions and slowly be guided to open up.” She guessed, “He just asked about the other aliens. Perhaps this rejection is only directed at normal humans. It might be different with aliens.”

“When he gets to the research institute and spends a long time with the aliens there, the situation might get better.”

There was silence in the earpiece.

Aier remembered the director’s instructions and said under pressure, “Let him stay at the research institute, Marshal. I promise, what happened back then will not happen again.”

“The director personally purged many people back then and put an end to human experiments. Now, the research institute treats these aliens no differently from normal people. The situations you are thinking of will not occur.”

Aier was one of the personnel sent by the research institute to liaise this time. She had not participated in what had happened back then. All her understanding came from the trial conference three years ago.

A long time passed.

Only then did Si Jisheng say, “Is this the director’s proposal?”

Aier was at a loss for words for a moment, but she still wanted to fight for it. “After all, he is very precious. The director definitely wants to take him back to the institute.” She almost pleaded, “We promise, he will not be abused in the slightest, and the scene from back then will not be repeated.”

In the dead silence, Aier’s breathing gradually became heavy. Her heart pounded as she waited for the verdict. Just as she was about to surrender, a cold reply finally came, “The military will not clean up the research institute’s mess next time.”

If this Jiaoren had fallen into the hands of other galaxies, Si Jisheng closed his eyes and did not think any further, and hung up the communication.

A “ding—” sounded in the earpiece, and only then did Aier breathe a sigh of relief. Her back was covered in cold sweat. Although she didn’t understand what the Marshal meant by “cleaning up the research institute’s mess,” this matter was finally perfectly handled.

She glanced at the closed cabin door behind her, and her gaze softened. She would be a good guide and cure the blue-tail’s illness.

The military’s starship successfully returned to the Imperial Capital Star. Small flying ships picked up the aliens rescued from the star pirates in batches and flew to the research institute.

Deng Xi was in the last batch.

The water tank was pushed out of the cabin alone and all the way to the front. The golden-haired, blue-tailed little merman lay on the wall of the water tank, looking around with some curiosity.

From time to time, he would glance at the two unfamiliar humans pushing the water tank outside and Aier, who was following beside them.

Deng Xi couldn’t remember the route.

He only knew that the water tank had been walking along the silver-white walls for a long, long time, passing through one blue light gate after another. It was very tedious and boring.

But he was very cheerful.

He was about to see the little mute.

Deng Xi waited in anticipation, his beautiful blue eyes slightly curved. He let out one bubble after another, representing his joy. After passing through the next blue light gate, a cross-shaped passage leading in all directions was revealed.

Deng Xi looked around curiously.

In the distance of the passage to his left, a group of people happened to be walking by. The person in the lead was wrapped in a neat black outfit, his silver hair half-draped behind him, some of it resting on the golden medals on his shoulders.

At first glance, Deng Xi was first attracted by the sparkling gold, and then by the familiar silver hair. He widened his eyes slightly. Before he could see clearly, the figure had already passed through the passage.

The blue-tail’s sudden pounce on the wall of the water tank startled Aier. She quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Deng Xi anxiously patted the wall of the water tank. His voice, passing through the seawater, became even more muffled. “Who is that?”

Aier replied, “That’s the person who saved you. He is the first leader of the military, the Marshal of the Empire.”

He looked so amazing.

And he had no tail, and could walk like a person.

He shouldn’t be the little mute.

Deng Xi lowered his eyes dejectedly and let out a muffled sound of agreement.

The water tank was pushed through another light gate and entered the interior of the flying ship that was docked with the starship.

The flying ship carrying Deng Xi stopped on the top floor of the research institute.

When the water tank was pushed out of the flying ship, it was the first time Deng Xi knew that there was a large piece of land under the sun that was not covered by seawater.

The warmth of the sunlight shone on the surface of the water. Deng Xi broke through the water. He breathed in the fresh air, felt the warmth of the light on his body, and looked up at the sky in a daze.

Only in a daze did he have a sense of reality that he had come to a new world.

He was completely different from the people who could walk on land.

He didn’t belong.

He had no relatives.

Deng Xi suddenly felt a sense of fear in the face of the unknown.

He thought, after he found the little mute, the next step would be to take the little mute back to the ocean that belonged to them.

Deng Xi didn’t know that he, who had broken through the water and was bathed in the light, was being watched by many people.

His blue tail fin sparkled, and his curly golden hair was even more dazzling in the light. His blue eyes were as ethereal as the ocean.

So beautiful that it made people reluctant to blink.

It was said that a national treasure-level alien was being sent to the institute today. All the research institute personnel who had come to watch upon hearing the news couldn’t help but hold their breath. After being struck by his beauty, someone asked in a daze, “Can we really raise this?”

It instantly woke everyone up.

“What kind of alien is he? Is this his racial talent?”

“I heard he’s a Jiaoren, just like the Marshal.”

“I’ve seen the Marshal in person. Jiaoren seem to all look like this.”

“This level of beauty is too heaven-defying.”

“He seems to have heard us discussing him.”

Deng Xi looked towards the transparent door upon hearing the sound. When he looked up, he saw a group of colorful humans, all staring at him intently.

So many people.

Deng Xi curled his fingertips and slowly, slowly sank below the surface of the water, only revealing a pair of blue eyes to cautiously observe the outside world.

Why were they all looking at him?

What strange humans.

The researchers, who were tormented by tedious experiments every day to the point of balding, were instantly smitten. “I want to apply to be his keeper!”

“Can we have a team of ten? I’ll go and submit an application too.”

“He’s being pushed in!”

The glass door opened automatically, and the water tank was pushed in. A noisy crowd of people immediately surrounded it. Deng Xi was faced with the large, smiling faces of humans, and friendly greetings sounded in his ears.

“Hello, I am the researcher in charge of the alien field, Andis.”

“Hello, I’m Yarman.”

“Bode, I hope I will be your professional keeper in the future!”

“Hello, I…”

“Hello…”

Deng Xi couldn’t even remember them all. He awkwardly learned their language and greeted them in a small voice, “Hello, everyone.”

The fear of the unknown gradually dissipated.

Deng Xi’s clear blue eyes curved slightly, and he said seriously, “I am Deng Xi.”

Humans, and a new world.

Hello.