I Woke Up To Find Myself Being Kept By A Mermaid – CH9

Chapter 9: Healing

By the time Lux returned to the West Sea Human Cultivation Center, Ruan Chen had finished the remaining tests and had been securely packed into a portable human habitat.

Once Vincent finalized the ownership paperwork, Lux picked up the habitat containing Ruan Chen, preparing to leave. However, the center’s director suddenly stepped out to stop them.

“Um… Admiral Lux…” The director had a strained, awkward expression on his face.

Lux raised his eyes. “Speak.”

The director carefully weighed his words. “We know it’s a monumental blessing that you and this human are a perfect match. According to regulations, a perfect match indeed bypasses the need for an auction. But…”

“You see…” The director managed to squeeze out a difficult smile. “Our West Sea Center hasn’t successfully awakened a rare breed in many years. The daily maintenance costs are astronomical. Honestly… we’re running at a deficit.”

Vincent frowned. “Doesn’t the Royal Cultivation Center allocate funding to you every year?”

“Oh, please.” The director waved a hand dismissively. “That’s just paperwork. We haven’t seen a single credit for two or three years now. If they don’t give us the funds, there’s nothing we can do. Even if we wanted to file a formal appeal, the courts wouldn’t dare offend the royal family.”

“So I was thinking… since this human is fated to be yours, could you perhaps show a little appreciation… um…” The director rubbed his hands together awkwardly.

Lux lowered his eyes in contemplation for a few seconds. “What did the last purebred Chinese human sell for?”

“Nine hundred million,” Vincent answered.

“I will pay the full amount based on that figure, adjusted for the current currency multiplier,” Lux stated. “Is there anything else?”

The director had initially hoped just to recoup his operating costs, never expecting to make a massive profit.

His eyes crinkled with absolute delight. “No, no, nothing else at all!”

“Oh, right.” He suddenly remembered something. “Your human is a special case and has quite a lively personality. It’s highly recommended that you take the time to bond with him. If he displays any fear when the early transformation phase triggers and merman traits appear, please be absolutely patient and soothe him. Under no circumstances should you be harsh with him.”

“Humans are incredibly fragile and cannot withstand a merman’s strength. If he gets injured anywhere, it could easily prove fatal.”

Lux glanced down into the portable habitat at the human, who was currently staring up at him with wide eyes.

He nodded slightly. “Understood.”

Be harsh with him?

It would be a miracle if this human didn’t turn around and scratch him.

The researchers helped them bypass the crowds of mermen blockading the cultivation center, quietly transporting Ruan Chen onto Lux’s shuttle.

“Finally settled.” Vincent sat down eagerly the moment he stepped inside the shuttle. “Who knew buying a human would involve so much drama?”

He pulled out his optical computer to check the live streams. “Huh. The Royal Cultivation Center already leaked the news about the perfect match between you and this human.”

“They even exposed the fact that you’re taking him to Base X… those bastards!” He handed the screen over to Lux.

Lux glanced at it casually, noting a massive string of comments below condemning him and demanding a standard public auction.

Vincent was furious. “What do you think they’re playing at? This is a blatant attempt to smear your reputation among the civilians.”

Every merman wanted to fight for a chance at this human. Even an auction would have left some feeling disgruntled, let alone a perfect match dropping out of nowhere, allowing a high-ranking officer to walk away with the prize without placing a single bid.

Lux let out a very faint laugh. “That is exactly what they want.”

The friction between the military and the royal family hadn’t started yesterday; it had only intensified since he took office.

“Issue a response under my name,” Lux said, his gaze remaining fixed on the portable habitat. “Attach the transaction records between me and the West Sea Center. State that public bidding against me is permitted. If anyone can outbid me, I will hand this human over to them.”

Vincent grinned broadly. “On it!”

When it came to financial power, the merman who could out-spend the military branch hadn’t even been born yet in the entire Ocean star system.

“But Lux, what if he runs into danger at Base X?” Vincent asked, worried.

The moment the words left his mouth, the portable habitat suddenly flipped over with a loud thud.

Ruan Chen scrambled up with great difficulty, facing the direction of the two mermen, baring his teeth fiercely. “Meow-awooo! (Let me the hell out!)“

Vincent’s throat hitched.

What a fierce little temper.

A hint of amusement entered Lux’s downcast eyes. “He won’t be in danger.”

“He will be my asset.”

Being trapped in a tiny box for the entire trip had completely exhausted what little patience Ruan Chen had left. By the time they arrived at Lux’s residence, he was done.

He reached out, trying to pry open the latches on the side of the container.

After a few frantic scratches, the box actually popped open.

Ruan Chen didn’t even have a few seconds to celebrate before he looked up and immediately locked eyes with Lux’s pale-gold gaze.

With the fresh resentment of being bitten twice fueling his rage, Ruan Chen launched himself out of the box like a missile. He lunged straight for Lux’s most vulnerable spot—his neck—and threw a vicious right hook.

“Meow, meow, meow, meow! (Die, you stinky goldfish!)”

Regrettably, he had completely forgotten that there was water outside the box.

Ruan Chen opened his mouth and swallowed a massive gulp of seawater. Floating aimlessly in the water with wide, startled eyes, he went completely blank.

Fortunately, he didn’t choke. Lux quickly produced a respirator mask and pressed it firmly over his face.

Ruan Chen clutched the oxygen supply and breathed heavily, taking quite a while to recover his bearings.

He tilted his head back.

The golden merman standing before him had an exceptionally long tail. At this close range, the creature looked to be at least three meters long from head to tail.

The sheer disparity in size forced Ruan Chen to calm down, and a belated wave of cowardice washed over him.

He subtly darted his eyes around. The surroundings were perfectly quiet, fully furnished, looking very much like a private residential room for a merman.

All those other mermen in white lab coats were nowhere to be seen.

Great.

It looks like I’ve been dragged straight into this fish’s lair.

The merman extended a hand toward him. Ruan Chen immediately dodged backward in alarm. “Meow-awooo? (What are you doing?)”

He dodged to the left, and the merman blocked him from the left. He dodged to the right, and the merman’s hand intercepted him on the right.

Ruan Chen swung a fist right at the merman’s arm, but a massive hand reached out and firmly caught him by the wrist.

Here it comes. He’s going to eat me.

Ruan Chen’s heart rate spiked dramatically, his entire body locking up with tension.

The merman pulled his caught right hand closer.

Ruan Chen’s eyes widened to their absolute limits, his legs tensing up, ready to strike back the instant things took a turn for the worse.

But after waiting a few seconds, the merman didn’t bite his hand off as he had anticipated.

Lux’s long eyelashes cast a shadow downward, his gaze resting on the bandaged back of Ruan Chen’s hand.

With a very faint shhhk sound, the large adhesive bandage covering the wound on the back of his hand was peeled away.

Exposed to the seawater, the wound sent a sharp sting directly to his brain.

Why peel off the bandage?

What is he trying to do?

Ruan Chen was so tense he forgot to breathe.

The merman seemed to sense his distress. He looked up at him briefly and emitted a very short, low vocalization.

Ruan Chen blinked. “Meow-uuu? (What did you say?)”

In that exact split second, the merman abruptly lowered his head and leaned down toward the back of his hand.

“Meow-awooo——! (Fuck your ancestry, you really do want to bite me!)”

Ruan Chen grabbed the merman’s arm, lifting his legs to repeatedly kick at Lux’s abdomen, struggling with everything he had to wrench his hand back.

He kicked several times, but the merman didn’t show the slightest reaction. Instead, Ruan Chen’s feet throbbed with intense pain, as if he were kicking a solid steel plate.

His right hand remained firmly trapped, and to make matters worse, his other wrist was caught as well, pinned tightly by the merman.

Ruan Chen was so frantic he wanted nothing more than to rip off his respirator and bite the guy right back.

A few seconds later, however, a remarkably soft, warm sensation brushed against the injury on the back of his hand.

Ruan Chen froze, snapping his head over to look—

The merman… was gently licking his wound.

He wasn’t biting him.

He wasn’t trying to eat his hand.

The wound quickly began to itch, feeling exactly like the sensation of new flesh regenerating after a scab forms.

The merman kept licking.

His mind swirling with utter confusion, Ruan Chen couldn’t help but crane his neck forward to get a closer look.

The injury on the back of his hand was actually closing up at a speed visible to the naked eye!

The merman was… healing his wound?!

After a few more seconds, Lux lifted his head and released his right hand.

Ruan Chen stared at the back of his hand in utter disbelief. The skin was smooth and pristine, without a single mark left behind.

Still unable to believe it, he lifted his hand to rub at the spot.

It was completely healed.

“Meow-uuu? (How is this happening?)” Ruan Chen couldn’t figure out the merman’s motives for the life of him, standing rooted to the spot.

It wasn’t until Lux pulled him into a gentle embrace and started opening several newly delivered packages, selecting a human-sized hairbrush, that things got even weirder.

Ruan Chen looked up.

The brush descended onto his short hair. As if terrified of using too much force, the merman began brushing through his black hair with incredibly gentle, sweeping strokes.

Ruan Chen’s small brain was on the verge of short-circuiting.

What the hell is going on here?!

If he were just livestock being fattened up for slaughter, why would anyone care if the meat had an injury?

Not to mention… using a method like licking to heal him.

And now, holding him like this just to brush his hair.

Ruan Chen’s thoughts raced as he quickly reviewed every single detail of what he had experienced since waking up in this world.

Drawing blood, giving injections, scanning him with instruments…

Thinking back on it now, it looked exactly like a comprehensive medical checkup.

Would a human hold their livestock in their arms to give them injections and draw blood for checkups?

Would anyone cuddle a market pig in their lap to brush its fur?

Ruan Chen stared blankly ahead.

Could it be that I got it all wrong, and I’m not food at all?

To test his hypothesis, he tilted his head back. “Meow-uuu. (Hey.)”

Lux looked down at him. “?”

Did the brushing hurt?

He softened his grip even further, to the point where he could barely hold the brush.

What a fragile little thing.

As if to comfort him, Lux lifted a hand to pat the top of Ruan Chen’s head.

Ruan Chen swallowed hard. He tentatively reached out to pat the back of the merman’s hand.

Then, under Lux’s watchful gaze, he tilted his chin up, pointing directly at the wound on his own neck.

“Meow, meow, meow. (Lick this part for me too.)”

Healing the hand might have just been a passing whim.

If the merman was truly willing to heal his neck as well, then he had definitely misunderstood their dynamic from the start.

Lux instantly caught on to Ruan Chen’s meaning. Gazing into the human’s large, pitch-black eyes, he easily detected the underlying calculation and expectation.

Along with a healthy dose of caution, suggesting the human was ready to scratch him at the slightest sign of trouble.

The wound on the neck would need to be pierced again for the next spiritual pheromone injection, which was why he hadn’t planned on healing it just yet.

But if Ruan Chen was explicitly requesting it, there was no reason he couldn’t.

Lux let out a silent laugh. Cupping the back of Ruan Chen’s head, he leaned down and peeled away the dressing on his neck.

The sensitivity of the soft flesh on the side of the neck was on an entirely different level compared to the back of his hand.

The moment the soft tongue pressed against it, Ruan Chen shuddered violently, a wave of numbness shooting straight through the back of his scalp.

“Mee-uuu (It tickles so much)…“

It took every ounce of his willpower to restrain his hands from reaching out to rip the merman’s hair out.

It was unbearably ticklish.

The wound on his neck had been bitten twice, making the healing process much slower than his hand.

The merman licked continuously for a solid ten minutes.

For Ruan Chen, it felt like enduring some form of exotic torture. He was dying to laugh but didn’t dare to, nearly causing himself internal injuries from holding it in.

Finally, the merman lifted his head away from his neck.

Is it done?

Ruan Chen reached up to touch his neck.

The pain was gone.

Those two punctures were completely missing.

He looked back at Lux.

His eyes were perfectly round, his small head entirely filled with massive confusion.

It seemed he really wasn’t emergency rations.

Then… then what on earth was he?

While he was lost in a daze, Lux reached into the pile of purchased items and pulled out a brand new object.

Ruan Chen turned his head, only to see a toy shaped like a Pacific saury dangling right in front of his face.

He instinctively reached out to swat at it, but the fish was yanked slightly higher, causing him to miss.

Stunned for a few seconds, Ruan Chen tilted his head back, realizing with absolute shock that this piece of garbage was actually…

A cat teaser wand?!

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