Chapter 86: I Love Slacking Off
When Tao Ning looked over, the Mermaid’s eyes held an innocent expression, as if the fleeting playfulness had never been there.
Seeing that Tao Ning wasn’t falling for it, the Mermaid swayed her hand, looking up at an angle that resembled a water sprite.
An innocent allure mixed with unintentional temptation. No one could resist the urge to pull her ashore when she reached out.
Mermaids were collectively obsessed with beauty, possessing both powerful combat abilities and stunning appearances.
The one before her couldn’t possibly be unaware of her own beauty, nor could she not know that the person in front of her would be captivated.
Under her subtle, urging gaze, Tao Ning stood still, meeting her eyes for a long moment before slowly extending her hand.
If a third person were present, they would surely hold their breath, taking in this picturesque scene.
Beside the deep blue pool stood a young woman with a bucket, sleeves and pants rolled up, looking down at the stunning Mermaid by the shore.
The Mermaid, her upper body exposed, ice-blue fins peeking out from her platinum blonde hair, possessed an otherworldly beauty.
Both human and not, exceptionally enchanting.
Her long hair fanned out behind her, the lower half swaying like seaweed in the water, tempting one to reach out and touch it.
This was a siren, whose hair alone could spark endless fantasies.
Feeling the other person bending down, the Mermaid’s lips curled up. She knew no one could resist her charm.
Another face slowly enlarged before her eyes, but stopped at a certain distance, motionless.
Glancing at the outstretched hand, Callista thought: “?” She offered her hand further.
But the hand, which was also beautiful in the Mermaid’s eyes, hesitated. Callista finally realized something and looked up at the standing figure.
The other person’s supple waist bent into a curve, her water-soaked feet pale. Callista thought the nails on her toes resembled the shells she collected as a child.
Pinkish-white, smooth to the touch.
Tao Ning said, “You want to pull me into the water?”
A slightly deep voice, not loud, like a whisper, sounded near her ear fin.
Callista couldn’t understand the meaning, but she could keenly discern the questioning tone.
Her long, platinum eyelashes fluttered, and her dreamy eyes gradually cleared, as if the mist of a dream had dissipated.
She snapped out of her psychic network connection. Putting together the retracting hand and the question, her first reaction was: My intention has been discovered.
Her second reaction was: How could someone wake up from a Mermaid’s psychic influence?
Interesting, this was a formidable opponent.
So, the Mermaid put on an innocent expression: “??”
I don’t understand, I don’t understand what you’re saying, I just want you to give me your hand.
Although they didn’t share a language, Tao Ning couldn’t understand her words, but she could sense her intention.
Tao Ning said, “I didn’t try to tame you, but you want to tame me.”
She lowered her voice for the last sentence, just loud enough for Callista to hear: “I bet the desk behind the monitors is soaked because of you, isn’t it?”
Lifting her outstretched hand, Tao Ning flicked the Mermaid’s forehead, the force light but impactful.
Caught off guard, Callista let out an “Eh?”
As if by magic, a peach appeared in Tao Ning’s hand from seemingly nowhere and was placed in the Mermaid’s hand.
Holding the peach in one hand and covering her forehead with the other, Callista stared at Tao Ning, still dazed.
Tao Ning straightened up, picked up the bucket, and walked out.
She needed to find someone to clear all this away, whether it was to be taken to the cafeteria as an extra meal for the graduates or dried into fish jerky. They couldn’t just be left here taking up space; she wasn’t raising a second fish.
This particular Mermaid wouldn’t eat fish smaller than her thumb, and even then, she only liked fried fish jerky, refusing anything else.
520 finally spoke: [The way you were staring just now, I really thought you were mesmerized.]
It only spoke up after noticing Tao Ning wasn’t, so as not to interrupt her interest.
Tao Ning thought for a moment: “It was almost like that.”
The carefully considered probe having received a response, 520 knew its guess was correct. This widow was indeed remarrying.
In the previous life, she had clung to the other person, heartbroken and inconsolable, even spending a considerable amount of points to leave behind a jade pendant… No, wait, she also left a ring in the first world.
Suddenly realizing something, 520 felt its nonexistent hair fall out. It was already bald, now even balder.
In a flash of inspiration, a certain thought became increasingly clear.
Could it be that its host was a collector?
520 hesitated: [You…]
Tao Ning’s expression was nonchalant: “The more debts, the less pressure.”
520: […]
After a long silence, while Tao Ning was negotiating with someone to remove the buckets of fish, a sudden electronic voice made her choke.
520 said: [Okay, I get it. At least you’re consistent, never abandoning anyone!]
Tao Ning covered her mouth: “Cough, cough, cough…”
520, calculating its bills with heartache: [Missions are precious, points are even more valuable, but if it’s for love, both can be tossed aside! I understand, I understand.]
“…” Tao Ning chuckled, “You really do understand.”
The other person handed Tao Ning a tissue. Why would she choke on water for no reason?
“Thanks.” Tao Ning wiped the water from her lips. “By the way, I noticed the Mermaid seems agitated, often hitting the walls. Is there something she dislikes there? I suggest removing it.”
The other person’s expression shifted subtly upon hearing Tao Ning’s words. He was about to refuse.
Zang Yuzhu was known for not reading social cues, so she continued, “After all, the Federation’s order is to bring the Mermaid back safe and sound. If something on the way makes her uncomfortable, and she develops a resistance to humans, it will be difficult to do anything with her.”
This last part, however, moved the liaison teacher.
He was an instructor at the First Academy, holding a position of moderate authority on the ship. He handled minor matters himself, but anything related to the Mermaid, big or small, had to be reported.
The liaison teacher held his cup, hesitating for a moment before nodding: “I’ll report this as soon as possible.”
Tao Ning smiled politely: “Then I’ll go back now. The Mermaid needs me.”
In reality, Callista had seen something shiny on the wall at night, thinking it was something that emitted light, and had used pearls to knock it down to take a closer look.
But her own pearls ended up embedded in the wall, and when she used another pearl to try and dislodge them, it was also lost.
After a while, perhaps finding it pointless, she stopped, as the visible surveillance cameras had already been destroyed by Callista. Only a few hidden ones remained to observe the Mermaid’s daily life.
After the issue was reported, feedback from the Federation Research Institute came quickly, confirming the report. The Mermaid who had come ashore this time was sensitive to being watched, and they had already reduced the observation time accordingly.
Callista didn’t know someone was taking advantage of the language barrier to misrepresent her actions.
Looking at the departing figure, Callista clenched her webbed claws, only then remembering the fuzzy pink peach in her hand.
This was a fruit she had never seen in the ocean, emitting an even sweeter scent than the apple.
And it was softer, as if it would bruise with a squeeze.
Callista immediately loosened her grip, afraid of damaging the delicate peach.
Covering her forehead with one hand while biting into the peach, she belatedly realized that this audacious human had dared to flick the leader’s forehead!
As she was happily munching on the peach, her ear fin twitched. The human who had given her the peach was back.
Before the door opened, Callista quickly dove into the water.
Her movements were quick and smooth, without a splash, a perfect dive that would score full marks in a diving competition.
Callista, coming to her senses, stared at the half-eaten peach in her hand. She thought: Why did I hide from a human?
Realizing the implications of her actions, Callista felt she had been tricked.
Furious, Callista spun around in the water. She didn’t realize she looked like a proud wildcat whose head had been patted by a human, her seaweed-like hair practically standing on end.
Finally, she looked at the blurry figure on the water’s surface and made up her mind.
She had to teach her a lesson!
Callista was an abandoned Mermaid since childhood, raised by various families. As she grew older, her small desire for revenge grew with her.
So, she was someone who held grudges.
Tao Ning was walking around the area, picking up pearls one by one and putting them into her pocket.
Mermaids could weep tears that turned into pearls, and the more powerful the Mermaid, the more beautiful the pearls.
Picking up another pearl, Tao Ning held it up between her thumb and forefinger.
Under the light, the pearl in her hand was almost perfectly round. As for its quality, Tao Ning recalled the auction house she had visited in the original host’s memories, where a pearl necklace had been auctioned off for a sky-high price.
The pearls in her memory were far inferior in quality and luster to the one in Tao Ning’s hand.
One could imagine how many eager ladies would rush to buy these pearls, which the Mermaid treated as mere marbles.
Now they were all in the “abusing her authority” Tao Ning’s pockets.
A pearl rolled not far away, emitting a faint glow. She walked over to pick it up.
Tao Ning hissed, muttering, “That’s not right.”
520 was also envious of the pearls. Unable to touch or possess them, it could only feast its eyes. Hearing her words, it asked: [What’s wrong?]
Tao Ning: “But the Mermaid leader isn’t the type to cry. Where did she get so many pearls?”
520 offered a reasonable guess: [Did she make her subjects cry, and then collect the pearls?]
Tao Ning: “…” Surely not.
Looking at the pearls filling her pockets, Tao Ning, for the first time, thought that maybe it was possible.
A splash came from the pool. Tao Ning turned to see the Mermaid, who had been submerged, emerge, her beautiful face slightly puffed out, her eyes cold.
520, seeing this expression, thought: Here we go, this Mermaid is wild and has a real temper.
After a long stare-down with Tao Ning, the Mermaid raised her submerged hand.
Both the human and the system watched as she punched herself, skillfully cupping her hands under her face, quickly collecting two handfuls of pearls.
This unrestrained method of acquiring weapons deeply shocked both of them.
520 was dumbfounded: […Host, run! She’s serious!]
Without 520 needing to say it, Tao Ning had already retreated to a safe distance, raising her hands: “Don’t be impulsive, let’s talk things out. How about we establish friendly communication?”
As she spoke of friendship, the Mermaid gave her answer.
A pearl came flying towards her. The Mermaid’s aim seemed to be off, as Tao Ning easily dodged it.
Callista: “…?”
She looked at the scene in disbelief, then at her own hand, unable to believe it was real.
The overlord of the sea, the leader of the Mermaid tribe, the top predator, who had a record of taking down birds with pearls, actually missed?
Callista questioned her existence, her gaze becoming firm. If this tactic didn’t work, she would try another.
Tao Ning was about to ask if she wanted to try a new kind of fruit when she saw the figure in the pool dive back underwater.
Truly a creature of whims, changing her mind at the slightest displeasure.
Tao Ning lowered her hands. What could she do? It was her wife, she had to be patient.
520’s comment on this was: [It was already a disastrous start, and that flick to the forehead made it even worse.]
However, there’s a saying that fish only have a seven-second memory, implying that fish aren’t very smart. Could she really gain an advantage over the cunning fox?
Callista, focused on revenge, plotted in the water. Sometimes she heard footsteps above, but she wasn’t interested in looking.
Once, she heard people talking at the door, one voice very familiar. She thought for a moment, it seemed to be the male, ugly two-legged beast who had brought her ashore.
The door opened, and heavy boots walked in. The person who had provoked Callista had gone to fetch her dinner and hadn’t returned yet.
Callista was counting pearls underwater, too lazy to pay attention to the person walking around the pool. Seemingly because there was no response to his calls, the person was called away.
Not long after, another set of footsteps approached. Beneath her flowing platinum hair, her ice-blue ear fins twitched.
Callista’s lips curled into a smile. She suddenly surfaced and threw a pearl.
Then she waited leisurely to see the human get hit.
The result, however, disappointed Callista.
Tao Ning instinctively reached out and caught it, looking at it in confusion. Between her right index and middle fingers was a pearl, lustrous and denser than ordinary pearls.
It was a pearl that the leader had personally cried to create for the purpose of attacking.
Tao Ning smiled at the stunned Mermaid: “Is this a pearl for me? I like it very much.”
Callista’s face immediately fell.
Why didn’t the sneak attack work either?
With a splash, the Mermaid who had surfaced dove back down.
Tao Ning scratched her face, sighing softly: “She really holds a grudge. It’s a good thing she’s the leader.”
She didn’t finish the sentence, but 520 eerily understood what Tao Ning meant.
Leave a Reply