An Ming gazed at the stars in the vastness of space for a long while, feeling no expectations for the future. He turned back to the bedroom and entered the connected bathroom, realizing that this was once the place where LAN bathed.
The bathroom was spacious. To the right, by the porthole, a non-standard, oversized bathtub had been installed; to the left stood the vanity and a cabinet. An Ming observed the bathtub it was tall and deep, capable of holding more than four people. The control panel displayed options for bubble baths and various lighting effects.
He opened the cabinet, which contained neatly folded towels and bathrobes. They looked brand new, as if they were not items LAN had actually used. He went to the vanity to look in the mirror. The face in the reflection was ninety percent similar to his appearance before entering the world of the book, but his hair and pupils were now a shade of blue mixed with deep gray. His fair skin also possessed a healthy pink glow, looking infinitely better than the haggard state he had been in on his original sickbed.
An Ming also noticed light red marks on his neck, quickly remembering they were from his own webbed claws scratching him during his loss of control. At the time, it seemed he had scratched himself until he bled, but now the marks were almost invisible; it was clear that a mermaid Alpha’s healing ability was not weak. At the very least, it was much stronger than his human shell in his previous life.
It had been nearly a week since he had passed away in his original world. He wondered if his brother had emerged from the pain of losing him yet. An Ming sighed and began to undress.
Several floors down in the meeting room, LAN had just finished a survey meeting.
Rare Tr-s metal had been detected on Satellite Mi-1. Although its purity was high, it still didn’t meet the Boss’s standards, so they had to abandon it. They had originally planned to explore two more planets in succession, but now they had to detour to the Cloud Whale Constellation. The plan had to be changed; after sending the little mermaid away and surveying one more planet, they would need to replenish their supplies.
The crew didn’t mind the detour, but they were disappointed that the little mermaid was leaving. Even if the little brother looked like he couldn’t carry much on his shoulders, if he stayed with the rebel army, they would definitely cherish him and treat him like a mascot!
The subordinates left dejectedly, and Number Nine glided in.
“Communication with An Ming is complete; he expressed his gratitude,” it reported dryly, then turned to the Zerg who had stayed behind. “Oh, are you waiting for me?”
Evan glanced at it, the whites of his eyes particularly prominent against his dark skin. Ignoring Number Nine, he asked LAN, “Why not take him with us?”
LAN dropped his photonic pen. “What? I thought you didn’t like him.”
Evan: “I didn’t say I didn’t like him.”
LAN gave a soft “mm” and made a move to leave. Number Nine swayed left and right, torn between following or staying to accompany Evan.
“Boss,” Evan called out to LAN. “I know you don’t value your own life. But you can’t… can’t you just use him as a stabilizer?”
The tall human-dragon hybrid Omega paused, his back looking slightly lonely. After a long moment, he looked back and said, “My fate is sealed. I don’t need him, and he can’t cure me.”
LAN walked away. Number Nine approached Evan.
“Hey, big bug. Do you want a stabilizer?” Before Evan could glare at it again, Number Nine continued, “Your heat cycle is approaching, right? Want to try some male Zerg pheromones? The simulation accuracy of the batch I synthesized this time is as high as 99%. Want to come to my room and try it?”
The proud, cold, silver-haired Zerg: “…”
After leaving the others, LAN returned to his private living quarters. Previously, he was the only one living on this level; now he had moved next door, and the little mermaid had occupied his room.
LAN intended to go back to his room to rest. After being bitten, he had felt slightly fatigued. However, Number Nine’s treatment was very effective, and his physical fitness was naturally powerful. The bite wound had healed quickly. He figured he was just tired from drafting the rebel army’s expansion plan and simply needed more rest.
Thinking this, he nevertheless walked past his own room and continued further in, arriving in front of the little mermaid’s door. Realizing where he was, LAN froze. He quickly reasoned that since they wouldn’t meet again in the future, it would be better to say goodbye in person.
He tapped lightly on the door. There was no response. Was he asleep? That was fine, too. LAN turned to head back. Suddenly, a noise came from behind the door. It didn’t sound right.
“An Ming?” LAN knocked again. He was answered by a more distinct thumping sound.
LAN frowned. Something was wrong with the little mermaid. Espionage? Acting shady and secretive… what kind of mischief was he up to?
Splash! The sound grew louder.
The hybrid human-dragon’s expression darkened as he took a step back, prepared to kick the door down. Unlike Evan, who needed to undergo Zerg transformation to be effective, LAN could generate massive destructive power using just his mental strength in human form. But at the last second, he stopped himself, remembering that his permissions hadn’t been revoked.
With a face like frost, LAN gave a voice command: “Open door!”
At the same time, on the other side of the ship, Number Nine was showing a tube of pinkish-blue liquid to the big bug when it suddenly paused.
Evan immediately stiffened. “What? Is there a situation?”
Number Nine: “…Uh, there is, but we don’t need to worry about it.” It hummed a little tune and said happily, “Good thing he kept his permissions, otherwise we’d have to replace another door!”
Evan: “…”
With a click of the smart door, LAN entered directly. He quickly determined that the little mermaid was in the bathroom. His suspicion and anger turned into a strange worry; the little mermaid was a bit ditzy surely he hadn’t fallen into some syndrome and started self-harming?
LAN rushed straight in. The scene before him was staggering.
In the bathtub which was larger and deeper than normal a silver-blue fish tail was thrashing violently. The massive caudal fin was flared open, repeatedly slapping the water surface and kicking up countless chaotic splashes. The little mermaid was face-down in the water, his upper body submerged. Webbed claws, longer and thinner than human fingers, were scratching at the walls of the tub, making a piercing scraping sound.
His ear fins had also emerged, extending from his ink-like hair. The soft tips of the fins swayed with the water ripples, and the three pinkish slits behind his ears were very obvious. Those were the gills of a mermaid. But the gills were not opening or closing; instead, a continuous stream of bubbles rose from where the little mermaid’s head was buried.
LAN snapped out of the “joyful mermaid playing in water” scene and realized the little mermaid might be drowning!
Though it was hard to believe, he only hesitated for a second. There was no time to take off his clothes; he jumped directly into the bathtub, attempting to scoop the little mermaid up. Having seen the mermaid’s freakish strength before, he was fully prepared this time, using seventy percent of his power from the start.
Unexpectedly, the struggling mermaid was extremely fierce. LAN had to press his entire body against the other to barely subdue him.
“Calm down!” LAN lifted his head and spat out a mouthful of water. He tightly restrained An Ming from behind with both arms. Using his core strength, he hoisted him up, finally lifting the mermaid’s head out of the water.
Immediately after, he flipped over, squeezing into the narrow space between the little mermaid and the bottom of the tub. He ended up face-to-face with the little mermaid, then grabbed him by the waist and sat him on top of himself.
An Ming choked on several gulps of water, and tears were stung out of his eyes as his two webbed claws clawed blindly in front of him. Familiar with the routine, LAN grabbed his wrists, pulled them to the sides, and sat up. He released the webbed claws and placed his warm hands on An Ming’s face, his thumbs gently but firmly wiping away the little mermaid’s tears.
“An Ming!” he called the other’s name in a low voice.
An Ming froze and slightly opened his eyes.
“It’s okay,” LAN said softly. “It’s okay.”
Breaking free from the feeling of impending death, An Ming’s tears began to flow uncontrollably again. “I thought I was going to die again…” He tried to hold it back, but eventually broke into a loud wail.
The panic was still there. Sobbing, he lunged forward into the Great Villain’s embrace, tightly hugging LAN’s neck and burying his wet little face against the broad, resilient chest. His long fish tail also unconsciously coiled around LAN’s legs, tightening more and more.
“…An Ming, let go of me.”
Now that the little mermaid was out of danger but refused to let go, LAN felt a bit helpless.
“Wuu…” An Ming couldn’t hear anything; he was just venting his emotions.
LAN: “…” This was really something.
It took a long, long time for the little mermaid to settle down. Finally, he calmed.
“Sorry, I got you all wet.” Realizing the distance between him and the Great Villain was too close, An Ming immediately backed away. But his fish tail was still curved in the bathtub; it was long and large, looking to be about two meters, occupying most of the space.
“So afraid of death,” LAN chuckled awkwardly. He was wearing his commander’s uniform. Normally it was loose and comfortable, but soaked with water, it clung tightly to his body especially in certain areas making it incredibly uncomfortable.
“Yes.” An Ming nodded very seriously. “I’m afraid.”
Only someone who had experienced a terminal illness knew the feeling of powerlessness as life gradually flickered out into darkness. An Ming only wanted to live passionately now, to live with all his might.
LAN also nodded. A hint of undetectable awkwardness hung in the cool, moist air.
“You’re a mermaid; you can’t breathe underwater?” LAN broke the silence. Was An Ming a bit too clumsy? How could he be this clumsy? How would he survive on a planet? He had absolutely no ability to take care of himself.
An Ming: “The bathtub was too big, and I was scared by my own tail…”
An Ming was so ashamed he wanted to bury his face back under the water. He was telling the truth—the bathtub was waist-high. He had climbed in naked, and as soon as he touched the water, he slipped. One second he was a beautiful youth with long legs, and the next, a giant tail had whipped out. He was practically scared to death!
LAN: “…Sorry, the bathtub I customized is a bit large.” He was a human-dragon hybrid, and his dragon blood loved water. In his leisure time, he liked to soak in the water, letting his dragon wings and tail out to relax.
“No, it was my own carelessness,” An Ming said quickly.
Actually, it wasn’t just being scared by his own tail. What made An Ming even more horrified was that the entire fish tail was tightly covered in scales from the waist down, perfectly smooth. So smooth that… he couldn’t find his “little birdie.”
An Ming looked up and saw that LAN wasn’t looking at him; his gaze was wandering elsewhere. So, he peeked at his fish tail again.
Still nothing!
Wuu… An Ming was terrified, but he didn’t dare tell LAN, and he was also truly embarrassed. He wanted to cry again.