LSDWTWHA chapter 10

Chapter 10

Su Su browsed through the useful and the useless posts one by one, gathering a lot of information from the conversations of these people. He roughly understood that this was a network system specifically established by humans for mermaids. The mermaids who married to humans could play games on it to pass their time, and it was a standard feature for mermaids who came to the human world after marrying.

Many mermaids were initially resistant to coming to the human world, but after arriving, they gradually grew fond of life here. In general, the mermaids here were not as resistant to intermarriage as those in the sea; instead, most were quite satisfied with the current state of affairs.

Since those who could marry mermaids were, without exception, human nobles, the mermaids’ lives after marriage were, at least materially, very superior. They had no worries about food and clothing, and housework was managed by servants. Aside from raising children and spending time with their spouse, their daily activities revolved around beauty, skincare, baking, cooking, or surfing the internet, playing games, and binge-watching dramas.

After successful differentiation, they could also take a few mermaid friends to shop and have fun together.

Some people even specifically sought out other local mermaids for meetups to go shopping, eat, or watch movies.

At least from what was seen online, most mermaids seemed satisfied with their lives; any occasional trivial complaints were more like a form of playful boasting.

The live stream section featured mermaid hosts, mostly proactive male mermaids and mermaid hybrids, who showcased their talents, introduced local customs, discussed trending topics, and sold products suitable for mermaids to earn money, receiving tips as a means of making a living in the human world.

Mermaids who married into noble families were not allowed to do such things; showing themselves off live to earn money would make their families feel that they were losing face.

Regarding the gaming and animation sections, Su Su saw complaints from mermaids who said that the content in the animation section hadn’t been updated in a long time and that the gaming section was always buggy. The humans at home had long started using gaming pods, but they had no login access, only able to play RPGs on a projection.

Once this post was made, several mermaids quickly responded, stating: “The content in the animation section is dull and tedious, designed by humans to brainwash mermaids, featuring nothing but some beautiful love stories between mermaids and humans, which are meaningless. The games are all about how to please humans and make their partners happy in RPG format.”

However, less than a minute later, this post disappeared. Su Su inquired in other posts why the previous post was gone, and soon received a few replies.

【Newbie, how do you not know this?】

【The admin deleted it, what else could it be?】

【Do you really think this is your home? You can post whatever you want.】

Su Su sensed that the attitude of these users was somewhat different from the usual posts, but when he wanted to ask further, he noticed that this post was also gone.

At the same time, he received a warning himself, advising him to be cautious in his forum posts; any further violations would result in account suspension.

Su Su: ???

He hadn’t actually said anything, right?

This incident made Su Su subtly feel that the mermaids on this forum might be different from what they appeared to be.

However, this was just a short interlude, and Su Su did not pursue it further, quickly putting it out of his mind.

Live streaming, games, and animation did not interest Su Su. He only enjoyed immersing himself in the forum, and through the exchanges of these mermaids, he gradually came to understand a very different human world than what was described in his previous textbooks.

Although there were still many aspects that Su Su could not comprehend at times, it did not hinder him from becoming an internet addict who spent all day online.

To welcome the soon-to-arrive intermarriage partner, Su Su also did some advance study.

He learned extensively from various informative posts, such as: “The Ultimate Guide to Mermaid Flirting Techniques,” “No One Can Resist These Mermaid Moves,” and “A Few Must-Knows About Interacting with Humans.”

However, the opinions inside were varied and even contradictory; the more he learned, the more confused he became. For example, the part discussing human preferences had conflicting views: some said that as long as a mermaid looked good, that was enough; humans are all about looks.

Others said that no matter how beautiful the appearance, people would eventually tire of it, and a good personality was key to getting along. Some said to maintain a cool and mysterious demeanor. Others said that a wonderful voice was key.

Eventually, a group of mermaids began bickering loudly.

Ah, humans are truly difficult to understand, more complicated than the trajectory of a small physical ball.

While Su Su was engrossed in the internet, Yi Qing had also woken up.

Three days had passed since the intermarriage, and Su Su had already been sent to the human world; even if she rushed back now, it would be too late.

She had no choice but to send a maid back to the palace first to investigate the situation.

Upon returning to the Mermaid Kingdom, the maid found everything calm and quiet. She then went to inquire among familiar friends: “Has anything happened in the palace these days?”

Her friend looked puzzled and asked, “What are you talking about?”

“About the intermarriage.”

“Oh, you mean Princess Yi Qing’s marriage?” The friend looked at her strangely: “What could happen? Aren’t you her maid? If there’s anything, you should be the one telling me. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen you in these three days. This is a marriage; you all must be on vacation, right? That’s nice; I haven’t gone out for fun in a long time.”

Nothing happened? How is that possible? Did Su Su actually go to the human world for the princess? But even so, after such a long time, shouldn’t there be some hints by now?

However, after the maids asked a few more people repeatedly, the information remained the same; the Mermaid Kingdom had been calm and peaceful for these three days, and everyone thought Yi Qing had gone for the intermarriage.

The maids reported this news back to Yi Qing.

Yi Qing still felt uneasy. Although the current lack of incidents was good news, Su Su still had not truly transformed into a mermaid yet. Yi Qing quietly snuck back into the Mermaid Kingdom and found the High Priest.

The High Priest remained as unhurried as ever, with a chessboard set up before him as he played against himself. Upon seeing Yi Qing, there was no sign of surprise on his face; he simply said mildly, “You’re here, sit down.”

“How come you seem not the least surprised to see me?” Yi Qing was both surprised and confused. How did the High Priest know she didn’t go for the intermarriage? Why was he so calm about it?

The High Priest glanced at Yi Qing, smiling as he placed a piece on the center of the board: “You didn’t go for the intermarriage, which is why you’re here.”

“You know?”

“I know.” The High Priest said: “That day, you exchanged identities with Su Su, taking the shuttle away from the Mermaid Kingdom.”

Yi Qing instinctively looked at the projection on the wall. She knew that the High Priest had many human technologies here, through which he could keep tabs on everything happening in the Mermaid Kingdom. But she didn’t expect that he could even see her sneaking out of the palace.

Then she heard the High Priest continue: “Last time you came to find me, I already saw signs of differentiation appearing on you. Given your state at the time, your chances of differentiation outside were very high. You wouldn’t be able to go for that intermarriage.”

“Signs of differentiation?” Yi Qing was confused, asking, “What signs?”

She had not learned about any signs of mermaid differentiation in the education she received.

“Slow fluctuations in mental energy.” The High Priest explained: “And it began to accumulate in the form of energy, usually peaking at twice the normal level. Your mental energy had already reached its peak, which means your body was ready to catalyze genes and begin differentiation at any moment.”

Yi Qing asked, “What does this have to do with mental energy?”

The High Priest continued to explain: “Differentiation is realized through genetic mutation. But genetic mutation is driven by mental energy. However, very few mermaids can sense others’ mental energy fluctuations, so only successive High Priests are aware of this.”

Yi Qing couldn’t understand: “If you discovered this, why didn’t you stop me?”

The High Priest instead asked: “Did you really hope I would stop you?”

“Of course…” Yi Qing wanted to say, but recalling her feelings of despair when forced into the intermarriage, she became uncertain. At that time, she even thought about finding a quiet place to die after the intermarriage ended.

But she didn’t genuinely want to seek death. Perhaps when she snuck out of the palace, or even during her body’s quiet differentiation, her subconscious had already had the thought of escaping the marriage.

Seeing that Yi Qing had fallen silent, the High Priest added: “That day, other mermaids originally wanted to switch identities with you to go for the intermarriage. If you hadn’t escaped, you should have been replaced by now. To cover up the secret of the replacement, the other party would have likely killed you directly.”

“What?” Yi Qing was even more taken aback. She couldn’t understand why anyone would want such a hard task: “Who was it? If she wanted to go so badly, she could just ask my father directly. I’d definitely give her the opportunity; why resort to such means… Is Su Su alright?”

“Su Su will be fine. Once they discover that it’s not you going for the intermarriage, they will doubt whether their plan has gone awry and worry about it being a trap set by others. Given their caution, they won’t act against Su Su.”

“You seem to know those people well.” Yi Qing said cautiously. Although this assertion was quite offensive, she genuinely felt this way.

“I do know them well. I made an agreement with their leader. They inform me before taking any action, and in return, I won’t directly interfere with them.”

Yi Qing asked, “Who are they?”

The High Priest replied: “They are also mermaids, but not the ones from the Mermaid Kingdom.”

“Mermaid forces from outside the Mermaid Kingdom?” Yi Qing attempted to clarify the situation: “They want to impersonate me to participate in the intermarriage. Why? Is it aimed at me or the Mermaid Kingdom?”

“They wouldn’t want to get close to Qi Hanyi, right? I heard from my father that man and his family hold a significant position among humans; one must not offend them lightly, or it could bring disaster to the Mermaid Kingdom.”

The more Yi Qing thought about it, the more she felt it was possible, and her expression grew increasingly anxious.

The High Priest smiled lightly: “Who knows? Perhaps it will bring unexpected changes to the mermaids.”

As a princess, even though Yi Qing had left the Mermaid Kingdom, she still felt a natural sense of responsibility towards it. She couldn’t help but ask: “If you know their plan, why not stop them?”

The High Priest’s gaze rested on the tense chessboard: “I will not stop them.”

“Is it just because of your agreement with them?” Yi Qing grew anxious: “You must understand, this concerns the safety of the entire kingdom. If it wasn’t for Su Su showing up, they almost succeeded. Even if you can’t intervene, you should at least inform my father…”

“I cannot judge who truly represents ‘the right’ between them and the king.” The High Priest lifted his head, looking at Yi Qing, who was so agitated her cheeks were flushed: “Perhaps you should tell me if this kind of intermarriage, in which a portion of mermaid futures are sacrificed as a form of offering, is genuinely ‘correct’?”

Yi Qing was rendered speechless by the question. She herself was a victim of this issue, and she naturally knew how much those mermaids who didn’t want to leave the sea despised intermarriage.

“Are you suggesting those people have a way to stop all this?”

After asking this question, Yi Qing remembered her previous stance and added: “But anyway, since they’re all mermaids, they shouldn’t harm innocent mermaids.”

The mermaid priest gazed deeply at Yi Qing, as if dark currents were surging within the depths of the sea: “This is an adventure. Risk and opportunity coexist.”

“Since that’s the case, why not let them kill me? I am a princess of the Mermaid Kingdom and bear responsibility for my people. But why then do you have to involve Su Su to save me? He’s not even a mermaid right now; how can he survive in the human world?” After listening for so long, Yi Qing figured it out, realizing that Su Su replacing her was a deliberate act of indifference from the High Priest. Perhaps it had even begun when she offered that strange mermaid potion.

“He walked into the chess game himself.” The High Priest placed a piece in the center of the board; the previously one-sided situation suddenly became ambiguous: “He requested to become a mermaid; he also requested to switch identities with you to help you escape the marriage, didn’t he?”

“However, I do appreciate his actions.” The High Priest stared at the chaotic situation on the board, revealing a meaningful smile: “Perhaps from the moment I saw him, I started looking forward to an unexpected outcome.”

In the end, no victor emerged from the chessboard. Yi Qing wanted to continue probing for more, but the High Priest issued a dismissal: “You should go. Live the life you want, do not return, and do not worry too much about your friends.”

Facing the guilt-ridden expression of his granddaughter, the High Priest finally softened slightly and said gently: “If I remember correctly, that Admiral Qi Hanyi perhaps likes sharks more than mermaids.”

Su Su was living the much-anticipated easy life, with three hearty meals a day and internet entertainment. With the pool being too small and providing no space to move, within just a week, Su Su had put on a bit of weight.

However, it soon became apparent that it was not just gaining weight, but rather that his body was gradually changing towards a shark.

The taut lines of his formal wear could no longer contain Su Su’s round figure; the seams broke, and the garment fell into the depths of the pool.

On this day, apart from still retaining human vocal cords to produce sound, he looked completely like a shark.

At the same time, Su Su discovered an issue; after transforming into a shark, the robotic butler Xiao You’s identification system malfunctioned.

Every time he opened his mouth to speak, the response was: “Identity unrecognized, you do not have access permission.”

Su Su wanted to try seeking help online but found that even the facial recognition network would not allow him to log in.

Would he have to starve again?

Su Su sighed as he looked at the pills hidden at the bottom of the water, counting the days until he could take them again.

A spherical return pod landed precisely in the center of the small island, following its predetermined trajectory.

The hatch opened, and Qi Hanyi stepped out, long legs striding down the stairs.

He wore tight combat gear, with the outer coat casually draped over his shoulder, looking unusually less serious than usual.

But it was only because his shoulder was injured and wrapped in bandages, preventing him from putting on the sleeves.

Qi Hanyi had dark circles under his eyes; he, who usually paid attention to his appearance, was now sporting stubble on his chin. Combined with the wounds on his body, it told the story of how hazardous and strenuous this business trip had been.

Only his gaze remained sharp, as fierce as a newly tempered blade. It seemed no great challenge could deter or cause him to hesitate for a moment.

The communicator buzzed with incoming messages.

Qi Hanyi paused for a moment, his fingers moving slightly, revealing a virtual screen before his eyes.

Over half of the messages were work-related requests and notifications, which Qi Hanyi dealt with one by one.

A small number were congratulations and compliments from colleagues who learned he had successfully resolved an issue and achieved merit; Qi Hanyi deleted them with a single click.

In addition, there was a communication request from a private account.

【Butler Li Shu】

As Qi Hanyi looked at the name that popped out on the communication, his cold expression softened slightly.

This old butler had been the personal assistant to Qi Hanyi’s father, and after his father’s incident, he had then become Qi Hanyi’s butler.

He never married or had children, always treating Qi Hanyi like his own child.

Although Qi Hanyi had a cold disposition, he would rein in some of his sharp edges in front of this elder.

Once the communication was connected, a loud voice came through the transmission.

“Young master, you’re back! It must have been tough in battle, you didn’t get hurt, right?”

“No.” Qi Hanyi pressed on the bloody bandage on his shoulder; it had been treated in the spaceship’s medical pod, and given his constitution, it should be healing well by the time he got home.

Being unhurt meant he hadn’t sustained any injuries; he wasn’t lying.

“That’s good, that’s good.” Li Shu let out a long breath before hesitating and saying, “By the way, you know about the intermarriage, right?”

“I know. I will discuss this matter with the family head.” Qi Hanyi’s brow instinctively furrowed as he reflexively resisted the topic of mermaids: “I absolutely will not marry a mermaid.”

“But,” Li Shu hesitated in his tone, “the mermaid has already been sent here…”