Chapter 22: Landing
The next day, during the final hours before their arrival at Base X, Lux called another meeting to coordinate with the merfolk stationed at the base.
Standing beside him, Vincent stole a glance at his profile, looking as if he wanted to say something but was holding back.
“Spit it out,” Lux said, turning his head slightly toward him while the remaining generals had yet to arrive.
Vincent choked for a moment. “The… the scales on the side of your face still haven’t grown back?”
He could clearly see that another fine scale was missing from behind Lux’s ear. Thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him, Vincent had double-checked several times.
As soon as he finished speaking, the golden merman averted his gaze and brushed his long hair forward a bit, covering the bare patch.
“It’s been rather dry lately,” Lux said, without batting an eye. “Shedding scales is perfectly normal.”
Vincent: “…??”
Dry?
You soak in water every single day, how on earth can you complain about dryness?
“Right,” Lux remembered something and pulled up his light-computer. “When you have a moment later, contact the Human Breeding Forum and have them delete all the videos related to Ruan Ruan.”
“Ah…” Though somewhat surprised by his sudden mention of this, Vincent still nodded and noted it down. “No problem.”
Since the meeting hadn’t started yet, he took the opportunity to open his light-computer and contact the administrator of the Human Breeding Forum.
Vincent casually searched for “Purebred Chinese Human,” and a multitude of videos immediately popped up. The one with the highest trending heat was “Super Cute Human Injection Scene.”
On his way to clicking the feedback button to report to the administrator, Vincent glanced at the comments section below.
[Ahhhh, he’s so soft! I’m completely obsessed!]
[Give this human to me, I could cuddle him bald in less than three minutes. [drooling.jpg]]
[I’m satisfied, I’m satisfied, I’m satisfied.]
[Waaaah, he’s so tiny, getting an injection must make him cry for a really long time QAQ]
Beneath the sea of comments that all shared the exact same vibe, there was a brand-new comment posted just a few minutes ago.
[Ruan Ruan: [licking_blood_from_a_blade.jpg] [laser_cannon_barrage.jpg] [i’ll_kill_you_all.jpg]]
Vincent: “…”
Holy cow.
He suddenly understood exactly how Lux had lost that scale.
Inside the room an hour ago.
The moment Ruan Chen woke up, he couldn’t wait to open his light-computer.
Even though he couldn’t understand the text on it, it didn’t stop a seasoned internet-addicted youth from fumbling his way through using it.
The interface of the light-computer was largely identical to a computer interface. Ruan Chen spotted his profile picture in the top right corner.
Beneath it was a brief line of text.
It was probably… his name.
But how did the merman know what his name was?
After a few seconds of confusion, he tried to recall Lux’s operations from yesterday and pulled up the video-sharing website once again.
“Meow-ao… (What on earth is all this?)” Ruan Chen jabbed at the screen with his finger.
He couldn’t understand a single character.
It took him a good deal of effort to finally locate the videos related to himself.
Ruan Chen flew into a rage. “Meow-wu?! (Why are there still so many!)”
[Unrecognized language, please pronounce correctly.]
A line of text popped up on the screen. Unable to understand it, Ruan Chen grew even more infuriated and slammed his finger onto the small X icon next to it.
He angrily fished his spoils of war from the previous night out of his pocket.
A pale-gold scale shimmered brilliantly under the reflection of the water currents.
Recalling how the golden merman had flusteredly coaxed him yesterday, not even getting angry when his scale was scratched off, Ruan Chen’s embarrassment and anger upon seeing the video subsided slightly.
“Meow meow meow… (At least you know what’s good for you.)” He muttered curses as he stuffed the trophy back into his pocket.
Not knowing the merfolk script, Ruan Chen could only vent his fury by spamming emojis under every single video he could find, thoroughly letting out his pent-up grievance.
Sprawled on Lux’s massive bed, he continued to explore the contents of the light-computer.
He clicked through the categories at the top of the Human Breeding Forum one by one, finally stopping at a section that looked remarkably like a live-streaming platform.
Ruan Chen brought his head closer, narrowing his eyes to stare at the image in the minimized window.
It was a human and a merman…
What were they doing?
Curious, Ruan Chen clicked into the live stream room.
Lux’s account possessed the highest authorization level in the entire Ocean Planet, and the sub-accounts bound under his number enjoyed the exact same privileges.
The moment he entered, the live stream interface exploded with a magnificent welcome effect.
[Welcome “Ruan Ruan” to the “Showcasing the Sweet Daily Life of Me and My Human” live stream room!]
The illiterate Ruan Chen was completely oblivious to this. At this very moment, his tiny head was filled with immense confusion.
What was going on here?
On the screen was a foreigner with short, brownish-red hair and beautiful emerald-green eyes.
And he was currently embracing a silver-white merman.
He watched as the faces of the human and the merman drew closer and closer.
Immediately after, the human and the merman in the live stream… locked lips and shared a deep kiss.
?!
Ruan Chen’s brain let out a loud buzz.
Before he could snap out of his shock, the merman began kissing his way down from the human’s lips.
They pressed their foreheads together, gazing into each other’s eyes, the affection between them so intense it felt as though it could overflow through the screen.
“Meow-ao-wu?? (Stinky merman, where are you putting your hand?)” Ruan Chen’s eyes widened into perfect circles. “Meow-ao-ao-ao? Meow meow meow! (Hit him! He’s touching your butt! Hurry up and hit him!)”
However, not only did the short-haired human not give the merman a brutal thrashing like Ruan Chen expected, but he even touched him back.
The merman’s tail fin curled upward, looking thoroughly pleased and relaxed.
With a sharp smack, Ruan Chen shut off his light-computer.
After a long while, he stiffly turned his head and caught sight of his own terror-stricken face reflected in the glass window not far away.
In the eyes of the merfolk in this world…
What exactly was he?!
After taking a good long while to calm down, Ruan Chen still found it hard to believe. He opened the live stream room from just now once again.
The meeting concluded just as the battleship was preparing to make its landing descent.
Lux returned to the quarters to look for his human.
The moment he stepped through the door, he saw Ruan Chen curled up warily inside the conch bed, wrapping himself tightly into a bundle with the blanket.
A pair of wide, dark eyes stared fixedly at him.
“Ruan Ruan?” Lux carried Ruan Chen’s protective suit over his arm. “We’re preparing to go down to the base. Come here, let me change your clothes.”
“…” Ruan Chen remained completely unmoved.
Lux drew a bit closer. “Still angry?”
Ruan Chen shrank back toward the very rear of the conch bed. “Mew-wu… (Don’t come over.)”
Lux thought about it, then brought out a can of his favorite seaweed fish roe.
He popped the can open, and the savory aroma immediately wafted through the water.
“Ruan Ruan,” Lux scooped up a spoonful and held it toward Ruan Chen. “Want some?”
“Meow-ao-ao! (I’m not falling for your tricks!)” The expression on Ruan Chen’s small face was deadly serious. “Meow meow meow-wu. (Don’t think you can deceive me.)”
But the scent of the food was entirely too enticing.
Ruan Chen couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.
This tiny movement was accurately captured by Lux.
He let out a very soft chuckle, placed the spoon back, and set the entire can of food down on the small side table not far from Ruan Chen.
Then, he backed away and turned around to organize his weapons and equipment.
It seemed he truly just wanted to give him food.
He definitely wants to trick me. The moment I go out to eat, he’ll turn around and catch me.
Ruan Chen thought disdainfully to himself.
Seeing no movement behind him for a long while, Lux felt a trace of surprise in his heart.
His wariness is quite high.
That’s a good thing.
Just as he was thinking this, Ruan the Foodie Chen ultimately failed to resist the temptation of that can of food. He crawled out of the conch bed and extended his small clawed hand toward the side table.
As long as his movements were fast enough, he could just grab it and run, and everything would be fine.
Harboring a stroke of luck, Ruan Chen licked his lower lip.
“Meow-ao-ao-ao-ao— (I fucking knew it!)”
In the next instant, he was intercepted by the merman who rushed over, his wrist caught as he was pulled into a firm embrace.
“Good boy, yesterday was my fault. I’ve already contacted the forum, and all the videos will be completely deleted tonight.” Lux restrained his struggles, pressing Ruan Chen’s little head against his chest while gently soothing him by stroking his soft black hair over and over.
Ruan Chen couldn’t match his strength, so he could only use fierce words: “Meow-ao-ao-wu… (If you dare touch me like that merman did, you’re dead meat.)”
Even though he couldn’t understand, Lux still pretended to comply with an “Mm” in response. “Ruan Ruan, don’t be angry anymore. Put on your protective suit, and I’ll take you to see the Zerg planet.”
Ruan Chen was pulled into the protective suit from the head down, his hair instantly turning into a messy bird’s nest.
He struggled to poke his face out from the collar. “Meow-ao. (Kissing isn’t allowed either.)”
“Mm, alright.” Lux quickly fastened it for him.
The battleship suddenly gave a violent shudder.
“Mew-wu? (What’s happening?)” Ruan Chen trembled in fright.
Lux massaged the nape of his neck. “We’ve landed. Good boy, don’t be afraid.”
Snapping back to his senses, Ruan Chen slapped his hand away. “Meow-ao! (No touching me!)”
The present was different from the past; having watched that bizarre live stream, he was exceptionally sensitive to every single movement the merman made.
He wriggled frantically to get down from Lux’s arms, no longer wanting to be carried.
“I can only let you down in a bit.” Lux held him secure, moving his tail fin as he exited the room.
Outside the battleship, over a dozen small shuttlecrafts were already docked to transport them.
Once they boarded the shuttle, Ruan Chen finally realized that they seemed to have arrived on a different planet.
“Meow-wu… (What’s that?)” Ruan Chen extended a finger to point outside the shuttle window.
Not far below them lay a massive expanse of reinforced steel structures and buildings. Outside its perimeter, however, was an endless, sprawling wilderness of emerald-green moss and giant mushroom-like plants.
“Want to see?” Lux carried him to the edge of the window and said to Vincent, “Open the observation deck above.”
Subsequently, Ruan Chen accompanied him into a small, entirely transparent chamber at the very top of the shuttle.
The view here was far more expansive. Countless bizarre, nameless plants that emitted multi-colored, glowing bioluminescence carpeted the ground boundlessly, stretching all the way to the very edge of his horizon.
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