Chapter 4: Throwing a Tantrum
Vincent chased Lux all the way to the airship landing pad. “You’re heading out alone without a guard detail again? If the media catches you doing this one more time, I’m going to lose my job sooner or later.”
As the strongest combat force on the Ocean Planet and the supreme commander of the military, Lux’s existence was akin to the planet’s ultimate anchor. After both the Sirens and the Zerg tasted his wrath, their movements had been noticeably restrained for many years.
His immense importance was completely self-evident.
To reassure the public and ensure his safety, the royal family had issued a strict directive mandating that Lux must travel with at least three guards whenever he went out.
Yet, Lux almost never complied.
His own rationale was straightforward: if anyone from the Siren clan was truly capable of harming him, bringing more guards wouldn’t make a shred of difference anyway.
Because of this, Vincent, acting as his adjutant, had no idea how many scoldings he had taken from the press.
Lux skillfully fired up his private airship. “If going to a human breeding center can still expose me to danger, losing your job will be the least of our worries.”
That was also true.
Vincent twitched his lips. “What did the breeding center say?”
“They didn’t pick up. Their customer service has been completely overwhelmed.” Lux engaged the autopilot, and the airship surged out of the military base with formidable speed.
“Huh?” Vincent was startled. “Then shouldn’t we hurry up? What if he gets snatched by another merman?”
Lux had clearly considered this problem as well. He glanced at the time on his light-brain. “This human was awakened a day ago.”
Good grief, a whole day had passed already, and taking the fastest route from Fleet HQ to the West Sea Breeding Center would still take at least two hours.
Everyone knew what the concept of a purebred Chinese human meant. He feared that right now, the entire Ocean Planet was scrambling to get a mental compatibility test with this human.
“Don’t anxious. Even if they get there early, it’s useless if their compatibility score doesn’t reach 70% or higher,” Vincent comforted him.
Lux leaned back in his seat, his mind having calmed down considerably.
“Maybe I won’t reach 70% either,” he said softly, watching the scenery retreating rapidly outside the window.
“…” Vincent reclaimed his light-brain. “You’re showing classic signs of pre-rearing syndrome.”
It was highly fascinating to see a merman who slaughtered enemies on the battlefield without blinking an eye actually display an expression of anxious anticipation.
Lux withdrew his gaze and tapped on his own light-brain. “How do I access that human-rearing forum you mentioned earlier?”
Well then.
Before even meeting the person, he was already preparing to study up on human-rearing knowledge.
There was no such thing as a merman who didn’t like humans, only mermen who hadn’t reared one yet. That saying truly was an absolute truth.
Vincent stifled a laugh.
Lux lifted his eyelids. “The West Sea Breeding Center also has a human with blonde hair and green eyes.”
Vincent: “Really?”
“But if you laugh again, you’re staying behind to guard the airship door.”
“…”
The West Sea Human Breeding Center.
“Good boy, be good, let us just take a quick look to see if your body is healthy. It won’t hurt, it won’t hurt, be good now…”
“Meow-ow-ow-wu…”
Clustered around the diagnostic table were three or four merman nurses and a merman researcher. In the center was the human, constantly flailing his arms and legs as he struggled.
Weak, pitiful, and helpless.
The mermen were terrified of using too little strength to hold him down, yet equally terrified of using too much strength and hurting him. A simple blood draw and vaccination had somehow turned into a grueling, hours-long ordeal.
When he was first snatched out of the room by the mermen, Ruan Chen had indeed been terrified.
But now, he was about to explode with rage.
It seemed these mermen wanted to toy with him before eating him. They had held him down to give him a shot and even drawn his blood. If that were all, he could let it slide, but now they were pinning him to the table, rubbing and kneading him all over. There was even a cold sensation moving across him, likely from some kind of apparatus.
Death before dishonor!
“If you’ve got the guts, fight me one-on-one! You’re all so massive, yet it’s five against one—is that fair? Have you no shame as fish?”
Ruan Chen couldn’t budge, but that didn’t stop him from hurling curses.
“If you want to eat me, just make it quick! Can’t you just bite me straight in the neck?!” Finally freeing one of his hands, he glared at the nearest merman and pointed aggressively at his own neck.
Having said his piece, he adjusted his slightly loose respirator.
This contraption was truly hindering his performance, but he couldn’t survive without it.
The merman nurse watched him widen his dark eyes and “meow” away for a good while.
She covered her face and turned away. “Ahhh, he cried out at me!”
She let out a rapid string of high-pitched squeals.
Ruan Chen froze. “??”
Was she intimidated by me?
Just as he was about to double down on his threats, the male merman beside him extended a large hand, gently cupping his chin to lift it up.
Holy crap.
Big brother, I was only joking.
Don’t actually bite me, I don’t want to die just yet…
Forget it.
If you’re going to bite, just do it quickly. It’s best to aim for a one-hit kill so there’s no pain.
Ruan Chen squeezed his eyes shut.
“Why is he pointing at his neck? Is his neck uncomfortable?” Seeing his movements, the merman researcher examined him with genuine concern. “Pass me the scanner.”
A merman nurse handed him the device.
He meticulously scanned Ruan Chen’s entire neck and chin, finding absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.
The light, cool sensation tickled his sensitive neck, and Ruan Chen couldn’t hold it in—he let out a sudden, bursting laugh.
A large bubble popped out from the edge of his respirator.
Damn it.
The imposing aura he had worked so hard to build up was completely ruined.
These fish wanted to eat him, yet he had actually been tickled into laughing by their touch!
Ruan Chen stared up at the ceiling in sheer indignation.
“He seems to have smiled!” the merman nurse exclaimed in delight.
The merman researcher also stopped what he was doing. “I might have tickled him.”
The merman nurse’s eyes lit up. Just as she was about to reach out and stroke Ruan Chen’s neck, her colleague held her back.
“Don’t touch him recklessly. You aren’t his mate.”
“Alright…” She withdrew her hand dejectedly.
“His body is very healthy, and his hair is quite thick.” The merman researcher smoothed Ruan Chen’s hair. “Have all the data points been recorded?”
The merman nurse nodded. “All recorded.”
The merman researcher leaned over to check her records. “His age is approximately nineteen; he is a fully adult human.”
Suddenly freed from the mermen’s constraints, Ruan Chen took a few seconds to process it before rubbing his wrists and sitting up.
The mermen were all huddled together, looking at a floating display screen filled with text and symbols he couldn’t comprehend.
That must be the language of this world, Ruan Chen guessed.
He cautiously tested the waters, lowering one leg past the edge of the diagnostic table.
He looked back to observe for a few seconds.
The mermen still hadn’t noticed him.
Ruan Chen made a split-second decision. Locking his eyes onto the door, he kicked off the table with tremendous force, propelling his entire body forward.
Jokes aside, he was once a ranked swimmer in the city championships. A mere ten-meter distance was nothing he couldn’t handle.
In almost a single breath, Ruan Chen dashed to the edge of the door.
The moment his hand touched the door release button, his heart pounded wildly.
He had actually succeeded in escaping?!
Behind him, the mermen looked completely astonished.
The merman nurse clapped her hands. “Wow, Cutie is so lively!”
“He swims so fast, and his form is beautiful.”
“He actually knows that’s the switch. He’s so incredibly smart!”
The heavy door slowly began to open, but Ruan Chen caught the sound of water churning with exceptional swiftness right beside his ear.
In the next instant, the male merman from earlier materialized right in front of him.
Ruan Chen went on full alert.
The merman reached out to grab him.
Seizing the opportune moment, Ruan Chen grabbed the merman’s arm, applied a precise leverage technique, and twisted his entire body.
With a sharp splash, the merman was dragged by his momentum and flung a significant distance forward.
A flash of genuine surprise crossed the merman’s eyes.
Ruan Chen kicked his legs hard, desperately swimming toward the outside of the door.
But he still failed.
The other mermen all swarmed forward in unison. Unable to withstand their collective force, his limbs were pinned once more, and he was hauled back into a firm embrace.
Ruan Chen stared blankly out the door, completely drained of life.
So close.
If only the water resistance hadn’t been so massive, preventing him from unleashing his full capability, and if the disparity in strength between him and the mermen hadn’t been so vast, he still felt confident he could have broken out.
The mermen surrounded him, resuming their incomprehensible vocalizations.
“He seems really angry.”
“This little paw actually packs so much power. Didn’t they say Asian humans have very docile temperaments?”
“He just woke up. Getting pinned down for shots and blood draws before he’s even familiar with us is bound to make him angry.”
“What should we do… I don’t want to be hated by him.”
“Let’s put him back for now. We can do the remaining checks in a few days. Let’s feed him some snacks to coax him.”
Ultimately, the mermen didn’t eat him after all. Following a round of cat-and-mouse-like handling, they returned him to his original glass room.
Now that his body was dry again, Ruan Chen felt his self-esteem thoroughly crushed.
He crawled onto the soft seashell bed, curled himself into a tight ball exactly the way Joshua did when sleeping, and completely shut down.
The merman nurse swam over, reaching her hand through the feeding window. “Cutie, don’t be angry anymore. Look, here are your favorite snacks.”
Ruan Chen gave them his back, ignoring them completely.
Joshua, from next door, walked over. He glanced at the bowl in the merman’s hand, pondered for a moment, and walked over to Ruan Chen.
“Are you OK?”
“I’m fine, thank you and…” Ruan Chen answered automatically. Mid-sentence, he crawled off the bed in sheer mortification. “I am very not fine.”
Joshua jerked his chin toward the merman. “They give you snacks.”
Ruan Chen panicked.
They’re releasing snakes to bite him?!
Joshua looked helpless. “Snack, not snake…”
Ruan Chen remained utterly clueless.
Joshua sighed, pointing at the merman. “Alright, food, there.”
“No.” Ruan Chen understood this time. He glared at the merman and firmly crossed his arms in an ‘X’ over his chest. “I’m angry. They play me, I will absolutely not eat their food!”
Joshua completely gave up on communicating. “OK, whatever you say.”
He had just finished the steak fed to him by the mermen, so he wasn’t particularly interested in these snacks.
The bowl held by the merman contained beautifully prepared prawns, complete with a dipping sauce.
Seeing that the human wasn’t moving, the merman picked up a piece and dipped it lightly, making the aroma of the sauced prawn even more pronounced.
Smelling the fragrance, Ruan Chen’s already starving stomach grew even more agonizing.
He swallowed hard.
No.
Absolutely not eating.
He had to let these mermen know that even if he was food, he wasn’t someone to be pushed around.
Ruan Chen stubbornly twisted his head away, refusing to look.
“He’s truly furious; even snacks won’t coax him back,” the merman nurse said sadly, pulling the bowl back.
Her colleague was also downcast. “Why don’t we serve it with rice and give it to him? We haven’t fed him today.”
Just as they set down the snack container, the director’s voice suddenly crackled through the communicator: “Is the purebred Chinese human in the breeding room?”
“Yes, Director,” the merman nurse replied.
“Open the doors immediately. Admiral Lux has arrived!”
“Understood.” The merman nurses exchanged glances, seeing the profound shock in each other’s eyes.
The doors to the breeding room glided open.
The merman nurses curtsied toward the towering, pale-gold merman before them. “Admiral Lux.”
Lux gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.
His gaze shifted, instantly locking onto the human inside the glass room not far away.
The human seemed incredibly surprised by his arrival. His two tiny hands were pressed against the glass, his round, pitch-black eyes wide with wonder. His curled eyelashes and delicate nose made him look far more endearing than he did in the video clip.
Staring at this entirely gold-toned merman, Ruan Chen’s mouth fell open. “Holy crap…”
Yet that exclamation, upon reaching Lux’s ears, translated into a soft, impossibly tender “meow-wu.”
The fine scales behind his ears suddenly opened and closed in a sharp twitch.
That sensation of total physical gratification he felt upon hearing the voice in the video surged through him once more.
His golden pupils narrowed into vertical slits, fixing his gaze squarely on the black-haired human.
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