LSDWTWHA chapter 9

Chapter 9

The two people who came to pick him up had already arrived. They were wearing diving suits, carrying oxygen tanks, and had masks covering their faces.

One of the humans presented a wine cup to Su, urging him to drink it, stating it was a farewell toast, a custom of mermaid marriage alliances.

The liquid in the cup was very thick, not dissolving in seawater. Rather than being a drink, it resembled jelly. Drinking it left a spicy sensation, along with a minty coolness.

It was Su’s first time tasting something other than seafood. Although it was quite spicy and a bit bitter, it was not particularly delicious, but it was an interesting experience. If he weren’t concerned about maintaining his image, he probably would have asked for another cup.

“Please follow me.” The human tied a rope around Su’s wrist, leading him towards the shuttle.

Su attentively observed the surrounding movements. It was only the two humans accompanying him, which significantly reduced his chances of fleeing later.

After sending Su off, the maids immediately went to the place Yi Qing often met with the orca but found no one there. They searched around for a while longer but still had no results. Finally, they followed the path to the area where the orca tribe resided, anxiously finding Pang Pang surrounded by a group of orcas, carefully protecting the mermaid princess who was in the middle of transforming.

The maids tried to explain the situation to Pang Pang. However, the young orca was highly suspicious of the mermaids and did not trust them at all. He believed these bad mermaids were trying to trick Yi Qing into returning, involving some kind of human marriage alliance. Although he didn’t fully understand what a marriage alliance entailed, he knew it would make his little mermaid sad.

He even detained the maid who had come to deliver the news, demanding she help keep an eye on the sleeping Yi Qing.

The mermaid maids, thinking of Su who was supposed to arrive, were distressed, but no matter how they explained to the orca, it was all in vain. The stubborn young orca refused to listen to them.

At that moment, Su was still unaware that his plan had gone awry.

The journey was longer this time, and to avoid being discovered for disguising himself, Su leaned against the back of the seat and pretended to sleep, waiting for the shuttle to reach the agreed rendezvous point, the most suitable place for his escape.

Tiger sharks naturally possess GPS-like locating abilities, and combined with Su’s superior mental perception, even without opening his eyes, he could mentally map out the shuttle’s route.

The shuttle passed through two long underwater mountain ranges and entered a section of underwater caves. The intricate maze’s exit was the rendezvous point agreed upon by Su and the maids.

As the shuttle entered the cave, Su sensed that a human was approaching him.

The human briefly paused beside him and respectfully said to another person, “Mr. Bai, it seems the drug is taking effect; he has already fallen asleep.”

Fallen asleep? Were they talking about him? What drug?

Su pondered while pretending to be asleep.

The person referred to as Mr. Bai responded, “I will take off my clothes; you keep an eye on the surroundings.”

Su felt two hands touching the ties around his waist.

Wait, what’s happening? Taking off clothes? Taking off… mine?

Although he didn’t know the other party’s intentions, taking off clothes meant his identity would be exposed, and Su couldn’t afford to sit back and wait now.

Su nimbly turned over and simultaneously pulled down the ribbon that covered his eyes.

When he revealed his face, the other person clearly paused for a moment.

“You’re not asleep… you’re not Yi Qing? You’re…” The newcomer’s gaze locked onto Su.

The only response he received was the sight of a fish tail, armored with hard scales, flexible and powerful.

Su never showed mercy to those judged to be enemies.

Despite wearing a trailing skirt, it did not hinder Su’s speed and strength. He struck the opponent forcefully, sending them flying directly into the wall, seemingly injuring them severely.

“Mr. Bai!” The other person panicked upon seeing this.

“Retreat for now.” Mr. Bai gestured to the person behind him.

The individual immediately grabbed Mr. Bai and pressed a control button to open the door and leave.

Having repelled the enemies, Su let out a sigh of relief. The rest was to wait for the shuttle to arrive at the rendezvous point to find Yi Qing.

After lying back on the chair for a while, a sudden wave of intense drowsiness hit him.

The drug in the wine was taking effect. The tiger shark bloodline made him less susceptible to toxins than ordinary mermaids, but that only delayed the effect for a short time.

Unable to withstand the overpowering sleepiness, he closed his eyes and sank deeply into slumber.

As the shuttle doors slowly closed, it continued along the set trajectory at high speed.

When Su opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the sea. He found himself in a massive fish tank, surrounded by transparent glass that was larger than the one on the previous ship, measuring ten or more meters in length and width.

Su turned around in place. This was definitely not anywhere in the sea; he had arrived on land.

He remembered that he had fallen asleep at that time, and according to the agreement, Yi Qing and the maids were supposed to come looking for him. However, it now seemed that either the maids hadn’t found Yi Qing in time or something had gone wrong during the retrieval. In any case, the plan had failed.

Realizing this, Su felt both excited and panicked.

He was excited that, no matter what, he had finally reached the long-anticipated human world. But he was also frightened because he had not yet transformed into a mermaid; if discovered, it would be disastrous.

Fortunately, there was no one around, allowing Su to gradually calm down. He looked down to check his condition.

He was still in his mermaid form, with his veil and ceremonial gown intact. The only thing missing was the ribbon over his eyes, which he must have pulled off during the struggle.

Su let out a sigh of relief.

From the looks of it, he had not yet revealed his identity.

However, the scales on his face were showing a tendency to spread, and his fish tail was extending upward from his waist past his chest. He no longer looked much like a normal mermaid, but he would have to wait another month for the next dose of medicine.

“You’re awake.” A sudden electronic voice startled Su.

He flailed around in the water, eventually locating the source of the voice, which was a metallic round robot with four legs.

Su had seen something similar in textbooks; this was called a robot. It was made by humans to assist in their work and life.

This was Su’s first time seeing one in person. Curiously, he climbed onto the edge of the tank, half his body out of the water, and unceremoniously knocked on the round metal body with his hands, trying to understand how this pile of metal worked.

“Beep, beep, don’t knock on me.” The metal sphere backed away, shielding its head from Su’s reach.

It adjusted the antennae on its head, steadied itself, and said, “Esteemed guest, please allow me to introduce myself. This is Admiral Qi Hanyi’s residence. I am the third-generation butler robot, named Xiao You, the intelligent butler of this house.”

“The Admiral has received an urgent mission and won’t return home for a few days. You will be staying here for the time being. If you need any food, you can tell Xiao You, and I will prepare it for you.”

Hearing the mention of food, Su instantly forgot his worries. After a whole night of turmoil, he was indeed extremely hungry.

“Ah—” Just as Su was about to request a seafood buffet for himself, he realized that he had not yet learned to speak.

To Su, vocal cords were a strange organ, and learning how to use them was much more difficult than using mental force to communicate.

But Xiao You was still waiting for his command, occasionally offering helpful reminders.

“Detecting that your body is currently in a state of hunger, it is recommended that you eat. Please tell Xiao You what food you need…”

“Detecting that your body is in a state of extreme hunger, it is recommended that you eat immediately. Please tell Xiao You what food you need…”

“Detecting…”

“Fish!” After a long struggle, driven by his strong survival instinct, Su finally managed to say the first word of his life with great difficulty.

“Do you want to eat fish?” The red light in Xiao You’s eyes flashed.

“Mm!”

“Okay, what kind of fish would you like? Steamed or braised?” Xiao You continued to ask.

Su: “……”

After the initial shock, Su took some time to get his tongue in order: “Both… both are fine.”

“Alright, I’ll prepare it for you right away.” Xiao You finally left with Su’s order, and half an hour later, Su detected an intriguing mixed scent wafting through the air, and he automatically swallowed.

Xiao You pushed a double-decker cart to the side of the fish tank, the height of the cart matching the edge of the tank perfectly. Xiao You removed each lid and introduced, “The kitchen has prepared steamed bass, braised mackerel, boiled fish, chopped pepper fish heads, stinky mandarin fish, and sashimi for you. I hope you enjoy.”

The food was served on exquisite platters, each exuding a tempting aroma.

Su had seen humans’ unique cooking methods in textbooks before but hadn’t expected to actually taste them one day. He originally thought that upon arriving in the human world, eating live fish like he did in the tank would be the pinnacle of seafood.

Following the methods taught in the textbooks, Su awkwardly picked up the chopsticks. His newly formed fingers struggled with such a complex operation, and the chopsticks clattered to the ground.

Using a spoon was much simpler. Su grasped the handle firmly, scooping the fish from the platter like he was shoveling dirt and filling his mouth.

Mmm!

After just one bite, Su was amazed by the flavors of the food on the platter.

Soon, using just a spoon could no longer satisfy Su’s craving for food. He used his hands to grab the food directly off the plate, devouring it in large bites.

Except for the sashimi, which wasn’t much different from what he had eaten raw before, every dish was a flavor he had never experienced.

It was so delicious, even better than the best yellowfin tuna he had ever had. Su had previously thought food was simply for filling his stomach, providing energy for survival. But now, he discovered that eating could be enjoyable.

There was no need to compete with anyone for food; everything lay quietly before him, waiting to be savored. Though it was all fish, each dish had a distinctly different aroma.

Su’s favorite was the boiled fish; even though it made his eyes water and his tongue burn, he still couldn’t stop eating.

Su finished all the food on the table, licking the plate clean. Finally, feeling satisfied, he let out a belch and sank back into the water.

The robot did not comment on Su’s strange eating habits and quietly awaited the end of his meal, cleaning up the plates afterward.

Aside from meal times, Xiao You did not appear.

During his stay, Xiao You handed Su a chip that resembled the “textbook” he had obtained previously. By tapping the buttons, it could be activated, and it functioned underwater without issue.

Su opened the chip, and a virtual projection appeared before him.

Unlike the textbook that could be logged into immediately, the first page that opened on this chip was a user registration page, with the top stating: Virtual Network Service Port (Mermaid Protocol Version).

Entering the registration details was not a challenge for Su, who had learned to read and spell from the textbook.

At this time, Su was unaware that humans had a habit of using usernames and virtual identities online, thus when registering, he honestly entered his information.

Username: 【Su Su】

Age: 【18】

Gender: 【Male】

…

After filling out a bunch of information, Su finally completed the registration and entered the online network. The content here was far more interesting than what was on his textbook chip—gaming, esports, forums, animated films, and live streams, all available. Su felt as if he had opened the door to a new world.

Following the new user guidance, Su first clicked into the forums. Hundreds of eye-catching titles filled his view.

“Must-read for newbies: Mermaid Forum Posting Guidelines.”

“Help! My tail is balding; can any sisters recommend a good scale oil for me!!”

“Experience Sharing: Three sentences that made a human spend 180,000 on me.”

“Help! How do I deal with my crush, the flat-faced turtle in the next fish tank!?”

……

Su couldn’t understand, but he was greatly shocked.