LSDWTWHA chapter 11

Chapter 11

After a long silence, Qi Hanyi’s voice became slightly heavier: “Has she been brought over?”

“Yes, we had no preparations beforehand, and there wasn’t a suitable place at home, so I took the liberty of settling the mermaid princess in the pool on your first floor, which has been unused for a long time. They say that mermaids can’t meet with humans other than their husbands before they undergo differentiation. I didn’t dare to break this rule, so for the past few days, Xiao You has been taking care of her. I don’t know if there have been any oversights in her care…” Li Shu spoke softly over the communicator, still unaware of Qi Hanyi’s emotional shift.

“Who approved this? Did I agree? No! We’re not keeping her! Send her away immediately!” Qi Hanyi’s emotions suddenly erupted, like a solid iceberg that had cracked open to reveal the molten lava beneath.

There was silence on the line for two seconds, and then Li Shu cautiously explained, “They said the head of the household notified you. I thought… I knew this matter was unreliable, but it was the head’s order, and there was nothing I could do about it. Now that you’re finally back, what do you think we should do?”

A new layer of ice had formed, repressing the violent emotions back to the depths of the sea, leaving only a slight breathlessness, as if it were the aftershock of an eruption: “Sorry, I shouldn’t have lost my temper. This isn’t your fault. I’ll go talk to the head of the household.”

“Ah…” Li Shu felt that it was better for the young master to throw a tantrum like before than to endure grievances silently, as if he were a soulless statue, which was quite painful to see.

Qi Hanyi hung up the phone and instructed the flight vehicle’s voice interface: “Go to the main residence.”

【Understood, destination changed to Qi family main residence.】

As the flight vehicle ascended smoothly, Qi Hanyi leaned back in his seat, tiredly closing his eyes.

In recent days, he had led an emergency inspection team, tirelessly searching the space station day and night for the insect race hidden within, tracing the whereabouts of leaked information. Fearing that they might alert the enemy, they dared not use the machines on the space station for extensive scans, relying only on handheld devices for targeted investigations.

For several consecutive days, Qi Hanyi hadn’t had a chance to rest his eyes, and his mental state was already at its limit.

The situation regarding the information leak was more serious than anticipated, and the insect race disguised as humans blending into the space station was extremely vigilant. Upon sensing that their identities might be exposed, they even attempted to initiate a self-destruction that would cause widespread destruction of the space station’s facilities to hide part of their movements.

To prevent the self-destruction, Qi Hanyi risked using himself as bait to lure the insect race spies out, then used a magnetic field blocker to seal off the energy.

After the energy was sealed off, the insect race could not absorb the surrounding particle energy for self-destruction in the short term. However, due to the magnetic field interference, he couldn’t use his mecha for combat and could only rely on a particle gun to take on three attackers, managing to fend off the insect race.

The physical capabilities of the insect race far exceeded those of humans, making this battle not easy for Qi Hanyi. At this moment, leaning against the seat of the flight vehicle, he felt a dull pain at the wound on his shoulder. That injury was caused when one of the massive scythe-like appendages of an insect brushed over his shoulder during the attack by three of them. If he had dodged even a fraction of a second slower, that sharp appendage could have pierced through his scapula, nailing him to the ground.

Next, the insect race would use their sharp mouthparts to pierce his brainstem, draining him dry like they had done in previous attempts to parasitize humans by laying eggs inside them.

Facing such a conflict, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t scared. He was human, but to live up to his identity and not to dishonor the Qi family’s reputation, Qi Hanyi had no room for retreat.

Right now, Qi Hanyi would rather fight the insect race again than marry a mermaid.

His head started to throb violently again.

A notification popped up on the communicator, instructing him to go to the hospital immediately for a mental force status check after landing. The message was from his friend and personal physician, Xiang Chen.

A month ago, during a physical check-up, the doctor had discovered that his mental force was on the brink of collapse. If he continued to use it recklessly, a problem would inevitably arise. This was also the main reason for his current vacation.

The SSS-level mental force provided Qi Hanyi with many unique advantages, whether piloting starships, driving mechas, or engaging in close combat. His extraordinary memory and reaction speed, as well as precision calculations and judgment akin to sophisticated instruments, allowed him to accomplish things in battle that normal people couldn’t.

It was precisely this SSS-level mental force, combined with his SSS-level physique and relentless efforts, that enabled him to stand out in the military and achieve what he had.

However, a super-strong mental force also led to severe mental exhaustion, especially for someone like him who frequently overexerted it, exacerbating the process.

Once a mental force collapse fully surged, it could result in the loss of reason at best, or death at worst. Qi Hanyi’s current leave could be interpreted more as a recuperation.

Currently, medical research on mental force treatment was still quite rudimentary, capable only of limited interventions during the early stages to relieve symptoms, without being able to reverse the progression of the condition or provide a cure.

The only effective treatment method was the singing of a mermaid, specifically by a particular mermaid directed at their differentiation counterpart. The effectiveness depended on the mermaid’s level of mental force.

The mental force among the royal mermaids was exceptionally strong, and that mermaid princess was among the highest in mental force level among eligible females.

Qi Hanyi understood that the head of the family’s urgent and arbitrary insistence for him to marry a mermaid was not solely to optimize family genes, but more out of concern for his own health.

If he really viewed himself merely as a tool to carry on the family line, he wouldn’t have let himself remain single until this age.

However, as the head of the household, Qi Xingli was iron-willed and cold-blooded, and would never express his concern as Li Shu would.

Qi Hanyi understood his grandfather’s intentions and was well aware of his own health condition. But even so, he had no intention of marrying a mermaid.

To heal his mental force, he would find other methods. Xiang Chen had also mentioned that they could first control it, and if given more time — a short one to two years, or a longer three to five years — they might not be unable to research an effective treatment specifically for mental force collapse.

Even if the mermaid had been sent home, he would find a way to refuse the marriage.

But when Qi Hanyi arrived at the main residence, he could not find Qi Xingli, only receiving the response from the family steward: “Young Master, the head of the family was summoned today and is accompanying His Majesty on an inspection.”

“Inspection?” Qi Hanyi, towering above the steward, looked down at him, his slightly drooping eyes appeared more oppressive than usual.

It was too coincidental that he had just landed, and his grandfather immediately went to accompany His Majesty on the inspection. Qi Hanyi couldn’t help but think further. The old steward was his grandfather’s confidant, so it was possible that he was working with his grandfather to send him away.

Qi Hanyi respected his grandfather, but he didn’t take orders from the household staff: “How long will they be gone? When will they return?”

But the old steward maintained a stable posture, half-bowed with a fearful tone perfectly calibrated, responding without leaking information: “Ah, young master, please don’t make it difficult for us servants. We can’t say for certain; it could be a day or two, or three to five days. As you know, His Majesty’s movements are always kept secret; besides the occasional guards, no one knows where they are. We can’t contact the head of the household right now. I suggest you hurry home.”

At this point, Qi Hanyi could see that the head of the household had left him with no room for discussion in this matter.

Taking such an evasive approach instead of facing him directly already showed consideration for their feelings.

Just thinking about the mermaid waiting at home made Qi Hanyi feel a lump in his throat.

Avoidance had never been Qi Hanyi’s style. He planned to turn back home and think of a way regarding the mermaid princess.

Su Su had been hungry all day and was now floating in the water like a salted fish, feeling so weak that he thought he might faint at any moment.

He looked towards the door that was more than ten meters away from the pool, recalling that Xiao You always brought him food through that door.

Without hesitation, Su Su jumped out of the pool, but upon reaching the ground, his fish fins felt short and clumsy. He floundered for a while at the edge of the pool, and if this kept up, he was afraid he would die before reaching the door.

Just as Su Su awkwardly considered retreating back into the pool, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Su Su twisted to look towards the door, and the figure pushing it open was not Xiao You, but a tall and stern-looking man.

To Su Su, that sternness didn’t look stern at all; it looked cute, and somehow familiar…

Su Su’s body, awkwardly bent at the edge of the pool, froze for a moment.

This was the same human who had saved him on the cruise ship and abandoned him afterward!

The coincidences in this world were even more absurd than the novels of folded paper moons.

Qi Hanyi stood at the door, looking at the empty pool, shimmering with a translucent aqua blue, with a long gown lying at the bottom. Other than that, the pool was empty; not a single fish could be seen, let alone a mermaid.

Furrowing his brows, Qi Hanyi asked the robot Xiao You following behind him: “Where is that mermaid?”

“I don’t know, young master. The lady has disappeared, and I haven’t seen her all day,” the robot replied innocently, turning its head.

I’m here!

Upon hearing this, Su Su turned and darted back into the pool, his tail flicking as he rushed to Qi Hanyi’s side.

With a splash, something fell into the water, causing Qi Hanyi to turn his head at the sound. Before the water’s surface could calm, a silver-white shark over two meters long had appeared in the empty pool.

As Qi Hanyi contemplated why there was a shark in his pool, the shark suddenly swam quickly towards the edge where he stood, rising in the water, its short fins flapping with excitement, greeting him in a less than skilled human tongue: “Husband, hungry, food.”

That tone was soft and a little mumbled, almost like it was being coy.

But in front of him stood a shark over two meters long, and through several centimeters of thick glass, Qi Hanyi could clearly see the entire row of serrated sharp teeth and the neatly arranged scales on its body.

Even for someone as indifferent as Qi Hanyi, a hint of a crack appeared in his expression at this moment.

After recognizing Qi Hanyi, Su Su felt a lot more relaxed in his heart.

Now in this form, anyone could see that he was not a purebred mermaid. Originally, Su Su had been worried about his betrothed might make things difficult for him, but now he was in front of a handsome and kind benefactor who had thrown him back into the sea that day, which was a bit annoying, but it must have been for the sake of protecting himself.

A benefactor who treats sharks with such care would certainly not make things difficult for him.

Su Su gazed expectantly at the human before him. At such a close distance, he could see him very clearly.

Neat short hair, sharp brows and eyes, handsome features, a lean yet powerful physique, every aspect perfectly matched Su Su’s preferences, making him want to bite him.

He swore! He just wanted to give a light bite, not to eat him!

As he thought this, Su Su’s tail swished more joyfully in the water.

Qi Hanyi had already prepared himself to negotiate with a mermaid. If the other party agreed to leave, that would be best; if not, he would offer some conditions.

For instance, seeking another suitable companion who liked mermaids, alongside some financial compensation.

If the other side insisted on entangling with him, he wouldn’t mind using tougher means to force the situation.

But at that moment, he was facing a shark.

More precisely, a talking shark.