LSDWTWHA chapter 23

Chapter 22

Su Su happily went to say goodbye to Yan Bai, but returned with a heavy heart.

Was he really going to test Qi Hanyi? Su Su felt some resistance deep down.

His world had always been simple and straightforward. If he wanted something, he would fight for it. When he was happy, he would do flips on the surface of the sea; when he was angry, he would fight to the death with others. But ever since he came to the human world, Su Su had discovered that the rules here were entirely different. Everyone hid secrets and schemed against each other, and since he came into the human world, the lies he had told and the secrets he needed to keep had been increasing day by day.

After returning to his room, Su Su found that Qi Hanyi had already left. The one who came to pick him up was the housekeeper, Li Shu, from Qi Hanyi’s family.

Li Shu smiled kindly at Su Su and said, “The young master has something to attend to and left first. He specifically asked me to come and pick you up.”

Hearing this, Su Su felt a sense of relief; he really didn’t know how to talk to Qi Hanyi at that moment.

After the housekeeper tidied up, he took Su Su down the mountain, and the shuttle car to take them home was already waiting at the door.

Upon seeing the shuttle, Su Su’s eyes lit up; he finally stopped worrying about the earlier question.

Li Shu noticed his joy and smiled along, “The young master said you were very interested in the shuttle car you rode yesterday. He asked me to accompany you today; you can play as long as you want.”

“Really?” Su Su exclaimed excitedly as he sat in the car and obediently buckled his seatbelt.

He couldn’t help but sigh in his heart: Qi Hanyi was really nice.

He didn’t mind that his appetite was big and allowed him to eat as much as he wanted, remembered that he liked the shuttle car, and specifically arranged for someone to accompany him to play.

He treated Su Su so well, so he surely wouldn’t get angry with him over a game permission, as Yan Bai had said.

At that moment, Qi Hanyi was busy fighting.

“Bang!” The shadow lion was kicked away by a huge force, crashing heavily against the wall. It was seriously injured, with bloodstains all over its body, and its arm hung down awkwardly from the joint. Using the uninjured hand to support itself on the ground, it tried to get up, only to feel a stabbing pain in its ankle.

The shadow lion simply eased off the force, leaned against the wall in the corner, and looked up to smile, “You’re so fierce early in the morning, Admiral Qi, are you trying to kill someone?”

Qi Hanyi stopped his actions and straightened his clothes, which were slightly rumpled from moving around, “Shadow Lion, considering our past friendship, this is just a warning. I advise you and your master behind you to restrain yourselves a bit. I don’t wish to get involved in your conflicts, but the Qi family is my bottom line. If you engage in these petty acts again, I will take your life.”

Shadow Lion blinked innocently, “What petty acts? What master behind me? I don’t understand. All I know is that you dragged me out of my warm bed early this morning to beat me up. You’re an admiral; I’m just a casual member. I can’t fight you now, and you can’t just barge into my home and bully a defenseless civilian, can you?”

“Don’t play dumb. Yesterday, you used my name to trick my mermaid into an empty room at the Mo family estate. You had two people lying in wait in the room, injured the mermaid, and fed him medicine. One of your subordinates should still have a bite mark on his arm where a chunk of flesh was bitten off. I’ve already had that blood sample taken; do you want me to let your subordinate come out for a DNA comparison?” Qi Hanyi said, sounding quite serious, although, in reality, that blood had already been cleaned up by Yan Bai’s people.

Shadow Lion was unaware that Qi Hanyi was just trying to deceive him and felt a pang of annoyance, thinking he had made a mistake and left evidence behind.

Qi Hanyi continued, “The matter has passed; I don’t wish to investigate further. But if there’s a next time, I will settle this debt in one go.”

“Not pursuing it, and yet you beat me like this?” Shadow Lion asked angrily but with a hint of laughter, “I held back quite a bit against your mermaid yesterday. If he hadn’t fought back so fiercely, I hadn’t planned on injuring him.”

Qi Hanyi remained unmoved, “Planning not to injure him while intending to use drugs to directly harm him?”

“Just a mermaid, after all,” Shadow Lion sneered, “Qi Hanyi, you used to never get angry over things like this, nor would you engage in such childish acts of revenge. Come on, you’re not falling for that mermaid, are you?”

Qi Hanyi almost thought he had heard an extremely absurd joke and said, “I will never fall in love with a mermaid. Never.”

After leaving Shadow Lion’s place, Qi Hanyi turned and stepped onto the shuttle while connecting to his aide, Jian Cheng’s communication.

“What’s the matter?”

“Sir, you asked me to investigate Yan Bai yesterday. We followed him after he left the Mo family and discovered he did not return directly to the Yan family, but instead went to Red Silk Bay.”

“Red Silk Bay?” Qi Hanyi was somewhat unfamiliar with this location, “What place is that?”

“It’s a well-known red-light district in the capital,” Jian Cheng explained somewhat awkwardly, “and it’s for men and men.”

Qi Hanyi, however, did not have any particular reaction; he continued to ask, “What did Yan Bai go to do?”

“He…” Jian Cheng paused, “This morning, he had someone knock out Zhang Lu, then fed him that kind of drug, and dumped him directly in the back alley of Red Silk Bay… Now Zhang Lu is under the drug’s effects…”

Jian Cheng did not continue, as the image was somewhat unsightly. Zhang Lu was not particularly good-looking, but he was still a well-groomed young noble, and to the customers of Red Silk Bay, he could be considered appetizing.

Now, due to the drug effects, he had lost consciousness and was disheveled, stumbling over to stick to others, like a meat bun stuffed into a dog’s mouth—how could they not take a bite?

Not only that, but Yan Bai also had someone secretly record a video and post it online. Such a disturbance not only ruined Zhang Lu’s future but also made the Zhang family a joke throughout the Empire; they might never be able to show their faces in the noble circle again.

“Yan Bai really must be reckless. Isn’t he afraid that the Zhang family will retaliate if this matter is exposed? After all, they’re an old noble family in the capital, and if things escalate to that extent, even the Yan family would face significant consequences.”

“Besides you, does anyone else know that it was Yan Bai’s doing?” Qi Hanyi asked.

“Shouldn’t be; this young noble did everything quite cleanly. I didn’t even notice when the drug was administered. They switched the driver from Zhang’s family to pick people up, disguising the incident as a financial kidnapping.”

“If he hadn’t insisted on coming to see the commotion, I wouldn’t have known he had caused such a huge stir by overhearing conversations through the listening device I installed in the tea house at Red Silk Bay.”

Jian Cheng then asked Qi Hanyi, “Admiral, what should we do now?”

“Use my authority to erase Yan Bai’s traces at Red Silk Bay.” Qi Hanyi said.

“You want to help him?” Jian Cheng was somewhat surprised.

“Just consider it a favor for helping take care of the mermaid last night.” Qi Hanyi replied.

Qi Hanyi did suspect Yan Bai, but one thing didn’t affect another. At least regarding Zhang Lu’s incident, both Qi Hanyi’s and Yan Bai’s interests aligned. If Yan Bai didn’t act against Zhang Lu, Qi Hanyi wouldn’t easily let him go either. Now that Yan Bai had taken action, he didn’t mind lending a hand behind the scenes.

After completing these tasks, Qi Hanyi returned to his residence.

Su Su was so engrossed with the shuttle that he only headed home when his stomach was growling in hunger.

“I’m back!” He rushed into the dining room, where Qi Hanyi was having lunch. Qi Hanyi had changed into home clothing that wasn’t as sharply contoured, but his sitting posture was still upright, as if he were attending a royal banquet.

His movements while eating were elegant, but he was not slow; by the time Su Su arrived, his bowl of rice was nearly empty. He had only eaten a few dishes in front of him, and the table was still full of untouched rice and dishes prepared for Su Su.

“Wow, this is amazing, it’s all my favorite food!” Su Su seemed to forget earlier unpleasantness, rubbing his hands together with joy, ready to eat.

“The shuttle car is so much fun! The butler took me for a tour outside the city. It was the first time I saw the mountains on the ground, there was this one steep road—it felt like I was flying as we swooped down from the peaks. We even went through a cave, and at the exit there was a waterfall, the water rushed down, and there was even a rainbow…”

The young man animatedly shared his experiences of riding the shuttle, his smile brighter than the rainbow.

Qi Hanyi, however, lowered his eyelids, as if he had not heard Su Su’s words, quietly finishing his meal before putting down the chopsticks.

“I’m full. You can take your time eating.”

“Ah?” Su Su’s words were halfway when his audience had left; the smile vanished from his face, and his eyes revealed obvious disappointment, but he obediently replied, “Then you be busy.”

Qi Hanyi was not busy at the moment. Currently in a truce, he was on leave, and there were not many matters for him to handle daily. With his efficiency, he had finished all tasks before lunch.

Qi Hanyi opened a highly difficult firearms training session, controlling a mech to face an onslaught of insectoids.

The sound effects of bullets bursting filled his chaotic thoughts. Countless training sessions had made Qi Hanyi’s actions nearly instinctive. The mech skillfully dodged and attacked amidst the encirclement of insectoids, each strike perfectly severing a control nerve of an insectoid.

However, Qi Hanyi’s thoughts began to drift uncontrollably away from the battle.

He had faced many tenacious characters, schemers, tyrants, or those in power. Yet he was utterly at a loss against the naïve and somewhat foolish mermaid.

He would never admit to having feelings for a mermaid, yet he couldn’t explain why his heart raced and his blood surged at the thought of the other.

Images of Su Su’s dazed look from last night flashed through his mind. Qi Hanyi, unusually, missed a shot; the insectoid with a mouth full of sharp teeth bit into his abdomen, lightly damaging the mech.

It had been many years since he had made such a rookie mistake; he was distracted.

Exiting the battle, Qi Hanyi took a shower, sat by the window, lit a cigarette, and pondered how the situation had slipped beyond his control step by step.

He had originally planned to end the engagement, but after seeing Su Su, he changed his mind.

After all, directly ending the engagement would mean going against his grandfather, a situation he did not wish to see. Letting Su Su stay here for a while was not so hard to bear.

Su Su was quite obedient; as long as he was fed, he was willing to cooperate. He usually stayed in his pool, didn’t ask questions, didn’t look around, and didn’t make noise. He could consider it raising a pet shark that could talk, which wasn’t so bad.

The problem arose when Su Su turned into a human, but this was actually what he desired. He needed a mermaid who could accompany him into social situations to deal with his grandfather’s scrutiny. Su Su transforming at this timing was just right—not only did it avoid trouble, but it was also helpful.

Was it because of Su Su’s actions last night? But he had taken the drug unwillingly; it was still his own carelessness that led to the incident.

What could he blame Su Su for? Blaming him for being too good-looking and inadvertently teasing him?

If that was a sin, then Su Su was indeed guilty as charged.

A knock on the door interrupted Qi Hanyi’s thoughts, and the culprit peeked his head in from outside, “May I come in?”

Qi Hanyi gently exhaled; the smoke dissipated, concealing his expression, “Come in; just in time, there are some things I want to discuss with you.”

Su Su stared at Qi Hanyi and felt that his appearance was somewhat unfamiliar.

In Su Su’s impression, Qi Hanyi had always been a person with clear objectives, strict self-discipline, but now the young man leaned slightly against the windowsill, slender fingers holding a cigarette, his posture relaxed, with unconcerned eyes gazing into the distance, his brow furrowed, somewhat troubled.

Yet this expression vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. Upon seeing him, Qi Hanyi had already regained his usual indifferent and composed demeanor.

Su Su had thought a lot while eating. He felt that although Qi Hanyi said he disliked mermaids, he was actually not bad to him. Su Su wanted to understand why Qi Hanyi hated mermaids. He hoped Qi Hanyi’s reasons would differ from Yan Bai’s, but even if they were the same, he still needed to find clarity.

Qi Hanyi extinguished his cigarette and opened the window to let the wind disperse the smell on him.

“What do you need me for?”

“I heard everyone discussing a game called ‘Star Wars’ at yesterday’s banquet. I’m a bit curious, but I couldn’t find it on the personal terminal for mermaids…” Su Su recalled Yan Bai’s teachings.

“You want to play ‘Star Wars’?” Qi Hanyi interrupted Su Su’s words with a question.

“Is it possible?” Su Su’s eyes were filled with anticipation. But it wasn’t the game he was looking forward to; rather, it was the goodwill of Qi Hanyi.

“No.” Qi Hanyi flatly rejected him, “This game does not allow mermaids to log in, so naturally, you wouldn’t find it.”

If it were another game, Qi Hanyi might think of ways to help, but ‘Star Wars’ was a military-significant online game and would naturally not allow access to mermaids.

Su Su was not discouraged and persisted, “I heard that there are ways to alter account permissions?”

“Who told you that, Yan Bai? Did he ask you to find him in the game?” Qi Hanyi’s expression turned cold. “The Empire has laws prohibiting mermaids from logging into human networks. If discovered, it’s a capital offense. I advise you to abandon this thought early.”

A capital offense…

Just like what Yan Bai had said.

So what Yan Bai said was true. Humans were indeed guarding against mermaids; their outward demeanor was friendly, yet they had always viewed them as outcasts, secretly cautious.

“But why? Why can’t mermaids play games with humans? Why can’t mermaids log into human networks?” Su Su asked unwillingly.

Qi Hanyi, looking at Su Su, was about to say something when suddenly a sharp voice echoed in his ears.

【Why… why can’t mermaids receive equal treatment as humans? Why can you arrogantly dictate the lives of mermaids? Damn it! You all should die!】

It was the voice of the mermaid referred to as【Mother】.

She had once questioned like this.

His head began to throb violently.

It was a precursor to mental force collapse, an issue that had been appearing more frequently lately.

“There is no ‘why.’ Humans and mermaids are fundamentally different beings. Humans marrying mermaids is just for the purpose of reproduction.” Qi Hanyi didn’t know who he was explaining to; perhaps this answer was unsatisfactory even to himself.

But who cares?

“I don’t need you to produce offspring for me. Just stay here and behave for a while, and once I handle things, you’ll naturally be able to leave.”

The pain in his head blurred his vision. Qi Hanyi forced himself to sit up straight; at least on the surface, he showed no signs of discomfort.

“I will arrange your food, clothing, and living accommodations. If you have any other thoughts, feel free to bring them up, but don’t take liberties.” The last sentence had an almost warning tone.

“Oh.” Su Su lowered his head, feeling quite stifled in his heart. It was strange—he initially hoped to be treated like a pet at home, with food and security, yet now that he received such a response, why wasn’t he satisfied?

Was it because he hadn’t behaved himself? Because he had overstepped?

Qi Hanyi took a breath and remembered the purpose of having Su Su come in, adding, “For a while, when I’m not home, if you need anything, you can go find Xiao You. If there’s nothing to report, don’t message me. Your room will not have anyone disturb you, and you don’t need to worry about living arrangements. I’ve modified Xiao You’s recognition settings; even if you turn back into a shark, he will still recognize you.”

He had already made the decision to move out of here, as his dorm at the expedition force headquarters was available. He planned to stay there for a while.

“That’s all; you may go out now.”

“Oh.” Su Su didn’t think much of it and assumed Qi Hanyi had something to do. Leaving was fine; he could log into the game to find Yan Bai without worrying about being discovered.

However, as he thought this, Su Su didn’t feel particularly happy; instead, he felt a bit empty inside.

But life had to go on. Su Su’s disappointment didn’t last long. He returned to his room, opened his terminal, and logged into the game.

The primary difference between the mermaid terminal and the human personal terminal was that a human’s personal terminal could connect through mental force.

As Su Su initiated the game, he felt his surroundings whirl and fade, his body suddenly becoming light, as if his consciousness had lost contact with his body.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing on a massive platform made of unknown metallic construction featuring pure white lines and a minimalistic structure overflowing with a sense of technology. A transparent glass dome encased the platform, forming the walls and the sky. Beyond the glass was a pitch-black canopy, with a brilliant galaxy filling it, stars and celestial bodies arranged in a stunning manner, making him feel as if he were truly in the vast universe.

A round-headed, round-bodied glowing orb floated in front of Su Su: 【Welcome player yy38762560 to the game ‘Star Wars.’ This is the login lobby, and I am your guide, Star.】

The guide was the physical embodiment of the beginner’s manual.

Star thoroughly demonstrated all the essential operations and settings of the game to Su Su and explained a series of functions and gameplay.

Su Su followed Star’s guidance to set up his game character. Since the operations primarily happened on mech and starship panels, player customization was very free. Su Su chose to be a blue cartoon shark with short arms and legs, small black eyes, and a big mouth, looking quite cute and silly.

Learning from the last lesson, Su Su didn’t use his real name but planned to choose the fitting name of【Shark】.

However, the name【Shark】 had already been taken. Su Su tried changing it to other related words and phrases, but they all showed as already registered.

After trying over a dozen times, Su Su grew irritated and randomly pounded out a long string of characters on the page.

Unexpectedly, he accidentally hit the confirmation key, and the system immediately popped up a prompt: 【Congratulations user “SharkNamingIsHardAhAhAh” registered successfully.】

Su Su:……

“Can I change my name?” Su Su looked to his guide.

Star instantly brought up a considerate payment prompt: “Purchase a name change card for 300/each, yes/no?”

No money; sorry to bother.

Su Su silently selected no, resigning himself to his somewhat odd name due to his poverty.

Next, Star began to introduce the specific game content.

Drive mechs and starships to roam space, experiencing real life in a space station.

Simulate human and insectoid warfare, realistically restoring mech operation and combat experiences.

Assemble a fleet of starships, engage in mech fighting tournaments, and there’s a mech driving competition; outstanding results can win prizes worth billions, with opportunities for special recruitment into military academy and joining the Imperial Expeditionary Force aboard the real starship Baize.

Su Su initially still thought about finding Yan Bai, but as he began to experience the real physical operation, he became completely captivated.

Su Su had no great interest in mechs; instead, he felt a strong attraction to starships.

The starship Su Su piloted was just the most basic training starship, a blank starship given to every new player, easy to handle.

After just a little learning, Su Su boldly pushed the speed to maximum. The massive starship moved like a nimble fish, swishing a blue-purple tail flame while weaving through the sea of stars.

Su Su loved the starship’s large size, relished the speed at which it galloped through the universe, enjoyed the thrill of jumping consecutively, and loved navigating through asteroid fields filled with debris and broken planets, maneuvering the mech to narrowly avoid collisions.

This exhilarating feeling was far beyond what the shuttle could compare to. Roaming in space felt like diving into another mysterious ocean, far more vast and wonderfully magnificent than the ocean he had previously known.

Su Su felt an indescribable sense of belonging, as if he was meant to be here since the moment he first leaped up from the water and gazed up at the starry sky, or when he first saw the starship named Baize in the textbook.

It turned out that his bubbling desire had been buried in his heart since that time.

Su Su got carried away, entirely forgetting about wanting to meet Yan Bai, until hunger severely reminded him that it was already time for dinner.

Reluctantly logging out, he opened his eyes to find himself slumped in a chair in his room, just like when he opened the game.

Su Su, in a daze, quickly finished his meal and returned to the game at top speed.

However, just as he logged in, he found his starship shaking violently, accompanied by ear-splitting explosions and sharp alarms.

“Boom!”

【Alarm, the starship is under attack! Current damage level 20%.】