“Please,” No. 9 said.
“Stay,” Evan actually followed suit.
The two of them looked at the little mermaid with earnest intensity. One was a Zerg who could transform into a xenomorph mecha at will and possessed a slight air of arrogance; the other was an Artificial Intelligence far more intelligent than any biological being. They were pleading; they were begging.
An Ming had never been treated like this before and couldn’t react for a moment.
Seeing the little mermaid’s lack of response, Evan grew anxious and pressed, “Do you have some kind of concern?”
“…Ah?” An Ming finally spoke after a long pause. “What do you mean by… staying…?”
“Live with us, live with LAN,” No. 9 said quickly. “As LAN’s partner.”
The little mermaid was even more bewildered: “…Partner?”
“It means you are his only Alpha, and he is your only Omega.”
Now An Ming understood.
Isn’t that just being a couple!
His expression turned slightly unnatural. “Stop joking around… This kind of thing requires the consent of the parties involved—”
“Do you consent?” Evan interrupted.
“Me?” An Ming suddenly grew agitated for some reason. “Why was it No. 9 first, and now both of you together? Shouldn’t LAN be the one to ask me this himself!”
No. 9 and Evan instantly went silent.
They were afraid of making the little mermaid angry.
The little mermaid was the medicine, the light, the hope, and the only possibility. They couldn’t scare him away.
“Sorry,” An Ming scratched his head. “This is too weird. Anyway, if there’s nothing else, I want to go back. If LAN wakes up… forget it, no need to tell me.”
With that, the little mermaid left No. 9 and the Zerg behind and walked away, heedless of whether he knew the way or had access permissions.
No. 9 had no choice but to guide him with holographic arrows the whole way, clearing his path with green lights.
During the next two and a half days of the journey, An Ming remained in his room. Except for No. 9 delivering meals at scheduled times, he saw no one.
He requested data regarding Planet α-875-A from No. 9. Amidst a series of “unbelievable” exclamations, No. 9 helped him create a Star Net account, configured an optical computer for him, and patiently taught him how to operate it.
“Your hometown must be very backward.” No. 9 had never been able to find An Ming’s place of origin. An Ming couldn’t explain it clearly either, only saying that there was endless seawater, and the sky was always dimly lit, with neither day nor night.
“It’s probably some planet deep within the Shadowlands,” No. 9 said after searching for a long time.
“The Shadowlands?” An Ming asked curiously. “What kind of place is that?”
No. 9’s new body hadn’t been built yet, so he was still in the holographic form of a beautiful male Zerg. He raised his hands helplessly and said, “Good heavens, An Ming, you really are incredibly dense. Have you never been to school? The Shadowlands is another name for the former Mermaid Empire!”
“Oh,” An Ming gave a hollow laugh. “Since I can remember, I spent every day swimming, hunting, and playing with sharks and dolphins. My clansmen looked after me. They gave me lessons, too, but I never listened.”
He was telling the truth; at least, that was what remained of the original host’s memories.
“Fine.” No. 9 continued to teach An Ming without losing his temper.
Although the little mermaid had a poor foundation, he was extremely bright and learned everything instantly. After only half an hour, he no longer needed No. 9’s guidance. He was flying through Star Net forums, holographic games, and interactive videos.
Once No. 9 left, An Ming browsed for a while longer before beginning to study seriously.
He discovered that Planet α-875-A, where he was about to settle, had a beautiful name: “Planet Ante.” It originated from the ancient High Mermaid language, meaning “The hometown one can never return to.”
The Mermaid Empire had collapsed. Mermaids were few in number, scattered across various corners of the universe, struggling to survive.
This planet was the place where the most mermaids lived about several thousand of them, 90% of whom were Alphas.
In this book, the setting established from the beginning was that the Mermaid Empire had fallen, Mermaid Alphas had been reduced to low-class citizens, and Mermaid Omegas had become slaves traded on the black market.
The original author hadn’t elaborated much, only briefly mentioning that the interstellar world once had four great races standing in a stalemate. Now, the mermaids were wanderers, the Dragon race was entirely extinct not a single pure-blood left and the Zerg, though powerful, kept to their own corner.
The entire galaxy was dominated by the Human Empire.
LAN, however, was the greatest villain and the only one who posed a massive threat to the Human Empire.
He was also a mixed-blood Human-Dragon Omega.
Strangely enough, the book didn’t contain many descriptions of how tyrannical LAN was, using only abstract terms like “bloodthirsty” or “vicious methods.” The only somewhat concrete scene was the opening where LAN brutally killed the Human Emperor.
That was also the only time LAN, as the story’s ultimate villain, made a proper appearance.
Yet, through the Star Net, An Ming learned that the Human Emperor was currently alive and well. Just the day before, he had taken his nephew and heir the protagonist of the original book to a charity event.
He had transmigrated into a time before the main plot began.
Thinking of this, An Ming curled his lip.
He would soon leave this ship for good. He wouldn’t see LAN again. He didn’t have much interest in exploring how the original plot would unfold, how LAN would kill the Emperor, or how he would eventually be wiped out by the Human Prince.
He said he wasn’t interested, but it felt more like deliberate avoidance.
Another day passed.
An Ming stayed in his room the entire time, and LAN never came to find him.
Every time No. 9 delivered food, he would crack jokes and teach him things. Since the “unpleasant” parting at the bar, No. 9 and An Ming had tacitly avoided mentioning the matter of staying.
To be honest, An Ming was a bit disappointed. After being marked, LAN hadn’t even seen him or said thank you. No. 9 must have reported his comment about “LAN should ask me himself,” yet the man still hadn’t made any gesture.
Not even a message.
No. 9 had tried to bring up his leader, but the little mermaid would change the subject directly: “Planet Ante has three major coastal cities, all of them so beautiful. Which one do you think I should choose?”
The holographic black-haired male Zerg stood there defeated and anxious. But knowing the little mermaid was set on leaving, he didn’t dare mention any requests again.
The little mermaid had brought LAN back from his spiritual wandering; he had already done more than enough.
Time flickered by.
The day of departure arrived.
An Ming had mastered a fair amount of knowledge about Planet Ante. He felt steady and was not worried about the future; instead, he was full of anticipation.
As LAN had promised, No. 9 prepared a huge suitcase for the little mermaid. He provided several sets of clothes for all four seasons, all modified from military uniforms, looking both beautiful and elegant.
“I’m a top-tier tailor,” No. 9 boasted.
One million Star Coins had been deposited into An Ming’s new account ten times the amount previously mentioned.
“This money is more than enough for you to spend for five years. After that, you’ll still need to find a job,” No. 9 sighed again.
No. 9 continued to nag and give instructions, afraid he had overlooked something that might cause the little mermaid trouble upon landing.
There were two hours left before they reached their destination. At that time, the Phoenix would hover above the planet, and Evan would take the little mermaid down in a medium-sized flight craft.
An Ming had been shut in his room for three days and was feeling cooped up. Not only had he been imprisoned since arriving here, but in his previous life, he had been bedridden. Every day, his brother would only push his wheelchair through the hospital garden for a brief stroll in the evening. He didn’t dare stay out too long; if he caught some bacteria, a whole round of chemotherapy would be wasted.
He left his room early and reached the ship’s main hall to breathe air outside his quarters.
No. 9 had notified everyone. Many expressed that the “little brother” was leaving and they had to see him off in person. After all, he was the person who had saved their Boss.
Dozens of powerful Alphas stood there, their faces full of reluctance.
An Ming recognized Hook and the other three injured soldiers. The bruising on Hook’s face had subsided, and he was doing fine.
“Little brother, I wish you a smooth journey.”
“I hope everything goes well in your new life.”
“Are you really not planning to stay?”
“Regardless, I hope you live happily and are forever blessed.”
Everyone chimed in with blessings, and An Ming was incredibly moved. They really were a group of lovely people.
The ship was still in transit, and it was still early, so An Ming simply chatted with everyone. The atmosphere grew warmer. It was a strange feeling they were clearly just passing strangers, yet they were having a sincere and friendly conversation before parting.
As they talked, they began to tease No. 9, unanimously agreeing that No. 9 was “cheating” by giving himself such an outstanding appearance. Standing next to the little mermaid, they were like two shimmering pearls; everyone said their eyes were going blind. Some argued that black hair and black eyes were more beautiful, while others felt blue hair and blue eyes were superior. Given that the little mermaid was “all-natural,” everyone eventually voted for him, placing the crown of “Number One Beauty” on his head.
An Ming: “…” Don’t be like that.
No. 9: “…” I didn’t make myself look like this for you guys anyway, humph.
Just then, the ship’s broadcast chimed: [The Phoenix has docked.]
Everyone fell silent at once. The hall became still.
An Ming’s heart suddenly twitched.
“The Phoenix is so steady, I didn’t even notice,” the little mermaid broke the silence, a smile fixed on his face.
“Haha, you haven’t even toured the whole place, right? How about you don’t leave? We’ll take you everywhere!” someone replied.
An Ming continued to smile, and the others followed suit.
The silver-haired Zerg with the lithe, powerful build appeared. Evan walked quickly to the little mermaid and said expressionlessly, “The luggage is loaded. Let’s go.”
An Ming had been sitting cross-legged on the floor with the others but stood up immediately upon hearing this.
Now, no one was laughing anymore.
The little mermaid was really leaving.
Evan didn’t linger and turned to walk away.
“Goodbye,” An Ming said one last time before hurrying to catch up.
Watching the little mermaid’s retreating back, the group shouted in unison: “GOODBYE!!!”
The sound echoed through the hall.
Turning into the security corridor, An Ming followed silently behind the Zerg, his chest feeling a bit tight.
“The flight craft has been deployed. Follow me directly to the hangar bay,” Evan said while leading the way, then suddenly came to a halt.
An Ming’s mind was wandering; his reaction was a beat slow, and he nearly crashed into the Zerg’s broad back.
“What is it?” he asked.
Evan didn’t answer but stepped aside.
The little mermaid felt a premonition. He looked up toward the end of the corridor.
There, at the end of the passage, a handsome figure was standing.