I Woke Up To Find Myself Being Kept By A Mermaid – CH12

Chapter 12: Shoulder Throw

Lux had once again activated his private shuttle overnight for the sake of his human, except this time it was due to an unexpected, early onset of the transformation phase.

Rushing over to pilot the craft, Vincent was bleary-eyed with sleep.

Over the past few days, he had been so thoroughly tormented by Lux’s human that he almost didn’t want to live vicariously through other mermen online anymore.

Ruan Chen, having completely rid himself of the respirator, was actually the most energetic of them all.

He sat in the specialized safety seat for humans, his eyes darting back and forth, staring fixedly at Lux.

His gaze landed on the fins protruding from Lux’s elbows.

They were exactly the same. In his dream, the merman had used those very fins to slice the tentacle monsters to pieces.

Ruan Chen’s gaze dropped lower.

Lux’s claws didn’t seem quite as razor-sharp as they had been in the dream.

The moment this thought crossed his mind, he watched as the merman’s claws abruptly extended outward to press a button on the shuttle’s control panel.

Fuck.

So they were just retracted.

Ruan Chen’s heart gave a violent tremor.

“Lux, you should hold him for a bit. He’s been staring at you this whole time,” Vincent said.

Ruan Chen heard the other merman say something to the golden merman, and the golden merman immediately turned to swim over toward him.

“Meow, meow, meow, meow! (Don’t come any closer!)”

Ruan Chen yelled.

Vincent laughed. “Look at that, look! The moment you get close, he gets so excited. Sigh, I’m so jealous.”

As they arrived at the human hospital, Lux curled his lip into a slight smile, leaning down to unfasten the safety buckle on Ruan Chen’s seat.

Ruan Chen was once again gathered into his arms.

He looked down at the merman’s claws, curling his little bare toes up slightly.

“Meow-uuu. (Please don’t scratch me)”

Upon stepping off the shuttle, Ruan Chen was just about to lift his head to scope out his surroundings when Lux cupped the back of his head and pressed him back into his chest.

“Be good. Do not move around.”

There were many mermen here, and he had come out without bringing his guards. Lux had no intention of exposing Ruan Chen to the prying eyes of other mermen.

However, he still severely underestimated Ruan Chen’s restless nature.

Taking his eyes off him for just a second, he found Ruan Chen already striking up a conversation with another human in the clinic.

“Meow, meow, meow-uuu? (Are you Chinese?)”

Discovering there was actually another human here, Ruan Chen was both shocked and delighted. Pushing himself up from Lux’s shoulder, he craned his neck to look over at the human behind him.

But to his surprise, the chestnut-haired human ignored him entirely. Instead, he turned around and let out a cry very similar to a merman’s vocalizations, hiding behind another merman.

Ruan Chen was bewildered. “Meow-awooo? Meow, meow, meow? (You can speak the merman language?)”

His gaze shifted, and he suddenly noticed that the chestnut-haired human wasn’t wearing a respirator either.

Ruan Chen looked toward the side of the boy’s face and, sure enough, spotted gills right where they belonged.

They were very small, with semi-transparent membranes inside that fluttered gently like tiny ribbons.

They didn’t look nearly as ugly as he had imagined.

In fact, they even looked kind of cool.

Ruan Chen couldn’t help but reach up to touch his own little gills.

I wonder if mine look like that too.

Not only that, but he also noticed a scattering of incredibly fine scales on the side of the chestnut-haired boy’s face. They were pale gray, perfectly matching the color of the merman standing beside him.

Ruan Chen’s eyes widened. “Mee-uuu. (Wow)”

“Huh?” The gray merman behind them heard Ruan Chen’s cry. “What… what breed is this? His voice is so unique.”

He leaned closer and suddenly gasped. “Ah! I remember now! This is the purebred Chinese human the West Sea Cultivation Center awakened recently!”

That single shout instantly drew the attention of numerous mermen nearby.

Suddenly finding himself stared at by several mermen simultaneously, Ruan Chen instinctively shrank back into Lux’s embrace.

Lux turned his head, casting a cold, indifferent glance their way.

Mermen were highly sensitive to the spiritual energy intensity of their peers. Intimidated by the implicit warning in his gaze, the other mermen who had been inching forward to get a closer look hesitated.

“Ad… Admiral Lux.” One of the mermen recognized him.

Upon hearing that title, the mermen completely abandoned the idea of approaching.

The gray merman who had shouted first also turned pale, pulling his human back to put more distance between them.

It was exactly their turn to enter the examination room, so Lux withdrew his gaze.

The moment Ruan Chen turned his head and saw a merman wearing a white lab coat, his expression instantly changed. “Meow, meow, meow! (Put me down!)“

The doctor, a specialist in treating humans, skillfully took Ruan Chen from Lux’s arms.

Ruan Chen snapped his head back, and Lux, seeing his reaction, allowed a faint trace of amusement to surface in his eyes.

He smoothed down a lock of Ruan Chen’s hair. “Be good, let the doctor examine you.”

Ruan Chen couldn’t understand a word, remaining extremely tense. “Meow, meow, meow, meow-awooo. (If you dare to give me a shot, you’re dead meat.)”

The doctor, entirely oblivious to the human’s rotten temper at this point, chuckled happily. “As expected of a rare breed, his voice is truly beautiful.”

Lux merely grunted, offering little in the way of a response.

By the time the examination began, the doctor suddenly understood exactly why Lux’s expression had been so noncommittal.

“Meow, meow, meow, meow, awoooo, awoooo——” (You stinky merman, let go of me!)

“Meow-awooo-uuu! Awooo, awooo, awooo, awooo!” (Don’t touch me there, do you want to die?)

Several merman nurses couldn’t pin him down, yet they were terrified of using too much force and injuring him.

The merman doctor was pacing in frantic circles. “This, this, this… Admiral Lux, we truly haven’t harmed your human. We have no idea why he is screaming so loudly…”

As he spoke, he carefully stole a glance at Lux’s expression.

Lux’s lips twitched slightly. “He has a bit of a temper.”

Then he added, “Let me do it.”

“Yes, yes, yes, we leave him in your capable hands then.”

The doctor thought to himself, You call this a bit of a temper? With screams like that, anyone who didn’t know better would think we were murdering him.

Ruan Chen was currently on the examination table, kicking and punching at the merman nurses, wreaking absolute havoc, when he was suddenly caught by the back of the neck by an unexpected hand.

He scowled. “Meow-awooo? (Who is it? Do you have a death wish?)”

But when he turned his head and met Lux’s golden eyes, Ruan Chen froze completely.

He shrank his neck back and complained pitifully, “Mee-uuu. (You pinched me too hard)”

That single sound was softer than soft, completely unrecognizable from the feral shrieks tearing from his throat just seconds ago.

Seeing him quiet down, Lux reached out and took hold of both of Ruan Chen’s tiny paws, telling the nurses beside them, “It is fine now. Proceed with the examination.”

The merman nurses hurried over with their instruments.

With cold metal devices prodding all over his body, Ruan Chen found it incredibly difficult to suppress his urge to fight back.

But he was also deeply intimidated by the presence of the merman holding him—the same merman who could crush someone’s skull without batting an eye.

Ruan Chen tried to play the pity card. “Meow-uuu… (It’s uncomfortable QAQ)”

“Good boy, just a little longer, it doesn’t hurt,” a merman nurse cooed, her heart melting at his soft cries.

Ruan Chen widened his teary, black eyes to gaze at Lux. “Mee-uuu, meow, meow, meow-uuu. (Please let me go?)”

Yet the golden merman remained entirely unmoved; he even tightened his grip on Ruan Chen’s wrists.

Fuck.

Ruan Chen gritted his teeth internally.

Stinky goldfish, I’m acting this damn cute and you still won’t let go.

The adorable expression he had plastered on instantly collapsed, replaced by a gaze of bitter, deep-seated resentment directed at Lux.

“Be a good boy, it will be over soon,” Lux lowered his eyes, suppressing a smile.

So those sweet little cries from just now were indeed fake.

Little thing has learned how to play innocent.

Enduring the torment until the examination finally concluded, the very instant Lux released his grip, Ruan Chen kicked off the examination table like a rocket, darting straight into the corner of the room.

“Meow, meow, meow! (You’ve lost me!)”

Lux raised an eyebrow slightly but didn’t drag him back. “How are the diagnosis results?”

The merman doctor smiled. “Admiral Lux, congratulations. Your human has indeed entered the transformation phase.”

The result didn’t surprise him. Lux nodded. “What else do I need to pay attention to during this stage? Aside from spending more time with him.”

“Uh… logically, simply keeping him company and nurturing your bond should be enough. However…” the doctor rubbed his hands together nervously.

Lux looked up. “Speak.”

“However, a minor anomaly has appeared in your human’s physical condition,” the doctor said, his expression tense. “Under normal circumstances, it takes about a month after the reaction period concludes for a human to slowly transition into the transformation phase. But according to your description, your human completely bypassed the reaction period and entered the transformation phase prematurely. We examined the residual spiritual pheromones in his system and discovered…”

“There are almost no residual spiritual pheromones left in his body.”

He had just injected Ruan Chen with a massive dose of spiritual pheromones a single day ago. Lux’s lips pressed into a tight line. “What does that mean?”

“It indicates that his metabolic rate for your spiritual pheromones is extraordinarily high. I suspect this might be tied to your perfect compatibility,” the doctor adjusted his glasses. “If that is the case, you must shorten the intervals between his spiritual pheromone injections.”

Hearing this, Vincent leaned in. “What are you going to do? Lux, your human doesn’t seem to like being bitten very much.”

The doctor sighed helplessly. “There’s no avoiding it. We must ensure he has a sufficient supply of spiritual pheromones to safely navigate the transformation phase.”

Lux lowered his gaze in thought. “How often must the injections be administered?”

The doctor replied, “I recommend every two to three days. If he truly resists it, you can push it back by one day, but absolutely no later than that.”

That was indeed a bit too frequent. He wasn’t even sure if he could properly coax him within two or three days.

Lux masked his emotions. “Understood.”

“There is one more thing.” The doctor hesitated for a few seconds. “Theoretically, excessively frequent injections of spiritual pheromones can carry minor side effects.”

“For example, experiencing hallucinations or memory confusion. But cases like this are incredibly rare, so I cannot accurately predict exactly what symptoms your human might exhibit.”

Lux asked, “Memory confusion?”

“It won’t be severe, rest assured. At most, he might occasionally recall memories from before he was cryogenically frozen.”

Most humans had been frozen for so long that they barely remembered anything related to ancient Earth.

Still, recalling those memories wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing; it might even aid their research into Earth’s civilization.

Lux nodded. “I will keep an eye on it.”

His human didn’t seem to be exhibiting any of those symptoms recently, aside from waking him up today as if he’d had a nightmare.

Having finished discussing Ruan Chen’s condition with the doctor, Lux turned around only to find that the human who had been crouching in the corner had vanished.

Immediately following that, he heard the noisy sounds of an argument erupting outside the examination room.

Intermingled with the voices was Ruan Chen’s highly recognizable meowing.

Outside the door, a merman with a purple tail, dressed in ostentatious, luxurious clothing, was attempting to grab his human. Ruan Chen’s slender little arms and legs were thrashing wildly as he struggled.

It was the merman Prince, Sane.

Lux’s expression instantly turned icy cold. With a powerful flick of his tail fin, he lunged forward.

Just as Ruan Chen successfully broke free, letting out a sharp “Meow-uuu,” he launched himself into Lux’s arms.

Seeing who it was, Sane scoffed coldly. “Bringing a fragile human to a warzone—you’re the only one on all of Ocean Planet who has the sheer audacity.”

“This matter was approved by your father. If you are dissatisfied, take it up with him,” Lux said, pulling Ruan Chen closer and comfortingly rubbing the soft flesh on his neck.

His dismissive attitude only fanned the flames of Prince Sane’s fury.

“Who doesn’t know that you monopolize military power to threaten my royal father? On this entire planet, if you say one, does anyone dare to say two?” Sane glared at Ruan Chen, who was safely tucked in Lux’s arms. “Bringing a human along—are you going to war or going on vacation? What if he disrupts military operations… Ah!”

“Meow-awooo-uuu!”

Sane’s words were abruptly cut short.

Ruan Chen had actually wriggled out of Lux’s embrace. Launching himself like a tiny cannonball right in front of Sane, he executed a flawless shoulder throw, slamming the Prince headfirst onto the ground with vicious force.

The surrounding mermen let out cries of shock.

Sane hadn’t even processed what happened, his face blank with utter bewilderment.

“Meow, meow, meow, awoooo! (You touch me without permission and still dare to yell at me? Who the hell gave you the guts?)”

Ruan Chen was fully prepared to keep beating him up, but Lux supported his arms and pulled him back into his embrace.

Finally coming to his senses, Sane flew into a frenzied rage. “You damn little—”

Lux shot him a razor-sharp, chilling glare.

Sane’s breath hitched in his throat.

Looking down at the furious human in his arms, Lux let out a very soft laugh. “He is merely a fragile human. If he has caused any offense, Your Highness the Prince, I kindly ask for your magnanimous understanding.”

With Lux backing him up, Ruan Chen’s confidence instantly skyrocketed.

Pushing himself up from Lux’s chest, he raised his arm toward Sane, throwing up a massive, aggressively arrogant middle finger.

“Meow, meow, meow, meow! (Eat shit, you fucking idiot!)”

“You…! Just you wait!”

Sane’s face flushed beet red. Dropping that hollow threat, he swiftly swam away, trailing his equally dumbfounded guards behind him.

Being sneak-attacked by a human and thrown flat on his face—anyone in that situation would want to dig a hole three feet deep and bury themselves in it.

Lux didn’t spare him another glance. He turned around, lowering his head to gently enclose Ruan Chen’s tiny paws in his hand. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Although he couldn’t understand the words, Ruan Chen could tell from the merman’s expression that he was checking on him.

Compared to the Lux in his dream, that purple merman was basically a weak chicken; he couldn’t do anything to him.

Ruan Chen curled his lip dismissively. Acting just like a big boss reassuring a subordinate, he calmly and collectedly patted Lux’s shoulder. “Meow-uuu, meow, meow, meow. (I’m fine, don’t worry about it)”

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