I Woke Up To Find Myself Being Kept By A Mermaid – CH3

Chapter 3: Fishing for Humans

It took Ruan Chen a great deal of brain-racking to finally figure out that the foreign teenager next door was named Joshua.

The boy seemed utterly exhausted. The moment he returned to his enclosure, he curled up on his soft, seashell-shaped bed and drifted off to sleep.

Taking advantage of the mermen’s absence, Ruan Chen stood up, intending to examine the room to plan a future escape.

He had barely taken a few steps when the outer door to the glass enclosure swung open again.

This time, a whole group of mermen swam inside.

Are they finally ready to eat?

Terrified, Ruan Chen bolted back behind his seashell bed, squeezing his body as far into the crevice as possible to keep the mermen from spotting him.

“Cutie seems really frightened,” the lead merman researcher said worriedly. “Should we give him a couple more days to adjust? If we pull him out to vaccinate him now, he’ll definitely hate us.”

The director of the breeding center shook his head. “No, the news has only been out for a few hours and it’s already caused such a sensation. A buyer will definitely be found for him very soon. We can’t afford to wait.”

That was a fair point.

Humans brought from ancient Earth to the Ocean Planet had undergone centuries of cryostasis; their physical constitutions were bound to have deteriorated significantly.

To ensure they could adapt to life here, every human had to be vaccinated. There were three shots in total, and the first had to be administered before the sale to monitor for any adverse reactions.

This purebred Chinese human was simply too highly sought after. It wouldn’t be long before a merman bought him, so they had to guarantee his health.

“Cutie, don’t be afraid. Let us give you a quick checkup. It’ll be over soon, and it won’t hurt at all,” a merman nurse coaxed softly, swimming over to the corner where Ruan Chen was hiding.

Up close, Ruan Chen watched the merman peer at him through the glass. The edges of that otherwise human-like face were covered in fine, dense scales.

His soul nearly left his body. Any thoughts of martial arts were instantly tossed to the wind.

“Holy crap, don’t eat me, don’t eat me! My bones are rock hard—if you eat me, you’ll definitely get me stuck in your teeth!” Turning away, he covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.

Watching this precious human clutch his head with his tiny hands while letting out a constant stream of soft, whimpering “meow-like” noises, the merman nurse covered her face. “Oh my god… how can he be so unfairly cute! Who could possibly have the heart to pull him out like this?”

Ultimately, the mermen decided to use food to lure him out.

After hiding in the corner for a while, Ruan Chen’s nose twitched. He seemed to catch a wonderful aroma.

He hadn’t had anything but a little water from the mermen since he woke up. His stomach was completely empty, making him incredibly sensitive to food.

Ruan Chen crept his eyes open and discovered that the mermen were all gone.

Moreover, a bowl of rice had actually been placed by the wall of the room!

So they hadn’t come to eat him earlier—they had come to feed him?

Then again, he and Joshua were as scrawny as monkeys. The mermen probably didn’t think much of the meager meat on their bones and wanted to fatten them up before the slaughter.

To eat, or not to eat?

Staring at the bowl of aromatic rice, Ruan Chen’s heart drummed.

He wasn’t particularly worried about the mermen poisoning the food. After all, they could bite him to death in one snap, or even just toss him into the water to drown him. There was no need to go to such lengths.

But actually eating it…

It felt rather unsettling, like being fed like a common animal.

Ruan Chen’s face twisted into a knot of hesitation.

“He’s wrinkling his nose. Is the rice undercooked?” the mermen whispered among themselves, watching from a short distance away. “How could it be? I specifically asked the South Sea Breeding Center for their rice-cooking techniques. It’s absolutely fully cooked! They said the last Japanese human ate three bowls in one go.”

The merman researcher patted them. “Keep your voices down. Asian humans seem to be rather timid and cautious. I reckon he’s testing to see if we’re using food to trick him.”

“But we are using food to trick him…”

“Cutie really is so intelligent. I remember the other one eats whatever he’s given, completely oblivious.”

“Oh look, Goldie is coming over!”

“Wow, he’s not trying to steal Cutie’s food, is he?”

This turn of events was unexpected, and the mermen tensed up, ready to step in at any moment to help the petite Chinese human.

Ruan Chen hadn’t expected Joshua to be interested in the rice either.

“You… you want to eat?” he asked, sitting on the floor and looking up.

Joshua glanced at the bowl of rice. “It’s safe.”

Seeing that Ruan Chen still didn’t understand, he added helplessly, “You can eat it.”

This time he understood, but Ruan Chen remained wary. “You sure? I eat, I will become fat, and then… fish will eat me!”

He made a throat-slitting gesture.

Joshua shrugged indifferently. “They’ll eat you anyway.”

Ruan Chen: “…”

That made a lot of sense.

Since death was inevitable either way, wasn’t it better to die on a full stomach?

Besides, if he refused to eat and stayed thin, what if the mermen lost their patience and ate him anyway? Wouldn’t he have missed out on eating a ton of the mermen’s rations? That would be a massive loss!

Having reasoned it through, Ruan Chen’s eyes lit up as he gestured. “Eat together? I can share half a bowl with you.”

As partners in misery, it was only right to share food.

Joshua raised an eyebrow. “No, thanks, I’m waiting for my steak.”

Ruan Chen clearly didn’t understand the latter half, but he knew the boy had declined.

He didn’t mind.

With a companion by his side, his courage surged. Ruan Chen stood up from the corner, walked over to the bowl, and squatted down to pick it up.

“Careful—!”

Joshua cried out, lunging toward him at top speed.

But it was too late. The wall of the enclosure flew open instantly, and a rushing merman snatched Ruan Chen out of the room in the blink of an eye.

“Mmph, mmph!” Only now did Ruan Chen realize he had been baited by these mermen using food.

Mermen fishing for humans! And he had been stupid enough to take the bait!

He struggled frantically, but unfortunately, his meager strength felt like nothing more than a tickle to the merman.

“Shh, shh, shh, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, baby. We aren’t going to hurt you.” The merman nurse didn’t dare grip him too tightly for fear of hurting him. She could only press an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth with one hand to ensure he could breathe smoothly, while gently cradling him in her arms with the other.

Ruan Chen couldn’t understand a word. Several more mermen swam up in front of him, carrying him away from the room he had just left.

Exerting all his strength, he glanced back through the merman’s arms toward Joshua. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a single bubble slipped through the gap in the respirator.

Ruan Chen widened his eyes, seeing Joshua pressed against the glass, staring in his direction with an expression full of anxiety.

A warmth bloomed in his heart. He extended his arm and waved his open hand at Joshua: Good brother, I’ll take my leave first. Take care of yourself.

The next second, his hand was caught by another merman. An incomprehensible light flickered in the depths of the merman’s eyes as he muttered something under his breath.

“Such tiny little paws. If I weren’t too poor to afford him, I would really want to kiss the palm of his hand,” the merman researcher said, his voice brimming with affection.

A colleague next to him warned, “Absolutely not! If the merman who buys him finds out, you’ll be torn to shreds!”

Mermen possessed an incredibly terrifying sense of possessiveness over their mates, brooks no interference from any other creature.

“Ah, I was just joking,” the merman researcher said downcast.

It was an exceedingly rare occurrence for Lux to be willing to stay and dine at Fleet HQ.

He entered the cafeteria alongside Vincent and found a place to sit. All along the way, merman officers constantly offered him greetings.

Lux keenly perceived that everyone seemed highly excited, all of them whispering and discussing something.

Vincent looked around, lamenting, “My bad. If I had known your presence here would cause such a massive reaction, I shouldn’t have chosen this place just for convenience.”

Was it because he had come that the other mermen were acting this way?

Lux swept a glance over his surroundings, casually ordered a meal, and lowered his eyelashes.

Suddenly, a merman with a rather loud voice mentioned the phrase “purebred Chinese human.”

Both Vincent and Lux heard it. The former exchanged a glance with him and chuckled. “Hey, looks like there are quite a few fish who like to daydream just like you.”

Lux’s brow twitched slightly, ignoring the mockery.

The two meals were promptly served. Having left the conference room meant signal was restored, so Vincent impatiently pulled out his light-brain and opened his favorite human-rearing forum.

Accustomed to this behavior, Lux focused entirely on the food on his plate.

Abruptly, his friend across from him gasped sharply.

Immediately following that, he shoved his light-brain right in front of Lux. “Look!!”

Lux: “?”

“Your mate is here! Lux!” Vincent was so excited he was speaking incoherently, flicking his tail fin as he swam right up to his side. “A purebred Chinese human! They’ve awakened a purebred Chinese human! Your dream has come true!”

Lux’s hands paused mid-motion, his gaze shifting instantly.

He took Vincent’s light-brain directly into his own hands.

A video was currently playing on the screen.

The human in the video possessed a head of pure black hair. A respirator was fitted over his nose and mouth, exposing a pair of large, watery eyes that stared unblinkingly at the camera.

Behind him, Vincent caught sight of this scene as well. Clutching his chest, he felt completely slain by the sheer adorableness of the human’s gaze.

“Let me see, you’re blocking me.”

Lux ignored him, his eyes locked onto the human in the video.

He was even more petite than he had imagined.

This was the latest video clip, capturing the entire process of the human getting vaccinated.

The merman nurse beside him kept trying to soothe him, but it seemed to have little effect. The human thrashed his arms and legs, clearly terrified.

Ultimately, his arm was held down and he was given a shot. The moment the needle sank into his flesh, the human let out an incredibly faint whimper.

“Meow-uuu…”

Lux’s pale gold pupils instantly contracted into sharp vertical slits, and the fins on his pointed ears instinctively flared and stood erect.

That tiny sound felt like a strange, electric wave of pure gratification, surging straight up his spine and into his mind.

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Are you done watching? Can you give it to me… I want to hear exactly how soft a purebred Chinese human’s voice sounds.”

Vincent poked his head out.

Lux asked, “Which breeding center is this?”

Vincent: “The one in the West Sea.”

Lux: “How many days does a mental strength compatibility test take?”

Vincent stroked his chin. “It varies. I see most humans require a reaction period of at least three days.”

“Wait, you don’t mean to… but we have to head to Base X immediately. You can’t wait for him to finish his reaction period, and humans can’t be brought over there anyway.”

“Mm,” Lux responded perfunctorily. Yet with a flick of his tail fin, he swam rapidly toward the airship docks, speaking into the light-brain as he went, “Connect me to the West Sea Breeding Center.”

Vincent froze for a moment before hastily giving chase. “Hey! That’s my light-brain, are you even listening to me!”

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