TCPUAAV Chapter 64

 

After confirming that 074 had left, the little mermaid finally emerged from the backyard.

 

As his father approached, his hands, hanging by his sides, clenched tightly into fists.

 

He tried to convince himself—It’s okay.

 

Dad won’t mind.

 

Even if Dad knew he had once been a test subject, he wouldn’t see him as a burden.

 

Dad would protect him, just as he always had.

 

So he had to tell him everything.

 

He had to warn Dad to be careful of 074.

 

He didn’t know why 074 was here, but he was afraid, afraid that he would harm Dad and the other cubs, who knew nothing of his past.

 

What had happened in the lab, he would never let it happen to Dad and Heli.

 

When Ruan Shiqing reached him, he noticed how pale the little mermaid’s smile was.

 

He had clearly been suppressing something all day.

 

Crouching slightly, he gently ruffled his soft blue hair. “Yuebai, are you ready to talk to Daddy?”

 

The little mermaid nodded firmly and followed him into the workshop.

 

On the windowsill, Rong Heng was sprawled lazily, basking in the sunlight.

 

Hearing them enter, he curiously turned his head.

 

Ruan Shiqing was about to ask him to step out, but the little mermaid shook his head, tugging at his sleeve to indicate that he didn’t mind.

 

Lowering his gaze, he pulled up a virtual screen and began typing:

 

[Dad, be careful of that blue-haired guest.]

 

Ruan Shiqing’s expression turned serious. “You know him?”

 

His first thought was that this had something to do with what had happened before he found Yuebai.

 

Reaching out, he lightly touched the scar on the little mermaid’s face.

 

“Did he do this to you?”

 

The little mermaid shook his head immediately.

 

[Not him. The lab people.]

 

After a long pause, he carefully typed out the rest.

 

[074 isn’t a bad person, but he’s not a good person either.]

 

[I don’t know why he’s here, but Dad, you need to be careful.]

 

Once everything was out in the open, the little mermaid let out a long, quiet breath.

 

His ear fins drooped slightly, and he didn’t dare to look his father in the eyes.

 

His fingers gripped the edge of his cart tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

 

But Ruan Shiqing just smiled.

 

“I knew Yuebai was a brave little mermaid.”

 

He gently pried open his clenched fingers, wrapping his hands around them, passing him warmth and strength.

 

There was no pity, no fear, no worry, only the same calm, steadfast presence as always.

 

And then, with quiet certainty, he said, “It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. Daddy will take care of everything.”

 

The little mermaid’s head snapped up.

 

His wide blue eyes stared at his father, as if searching for reassurance.

 

He wanted to smile, wanted to grin like he always did, but his eyes betrayed him.

 

Tears started falling uncontrollably.

 

Ruan Shiqing pulled him into a gentle embrace, carefully wiping away his tears.

 

Even Rong Heng, who had been watching from the windowsill, hopped over and nudged his palm with a damp nose.

 

All the tension, all the fear and uncertainty of the past few days finally unraveled.

 

The little mermaid sniffled, wiped his tears, and hugged both Dad and Snowball tightly.

 

By the time he walked out of the workshop, he had returned to being a bright, cheerful cub.

 

With Snowball in his arms, he smiled, his blue eyes sparkling, as if filled with the golden sunlight of spring.

 

But Ruan Shiqing’s expression turned cold.

 

Once Yuebai had left, he immediately activated B3024’s surveillance system.

 

Cross-referencing time logs and scanning records, he quickly pinpointed the blue-haired youth’s exact arrival.

 

Three nights ago, Lansing and Wright had landed in Inner City, arriving in secret via shuttle.

 

According to Yuebai, Lansing was the Holy Son of the mermaids.

 

And Wright’s clothing and mannerisms suggested that he, too, was of high status.

 

For two mermaids of noble blood to arrive secretly in the middle of the night on a backwater junk planet, their reason for coming could not be simple.

 

But Ruan Shiqing didn’t believe they had come for Yuebai.

 

The lab that created the test subjects had been operating illegally.

 

If it had been a public experiment, it would have never been allowed under Galactic Empire law.

 

If Yuebai and the others were discarded “failures”, it was likely that the experiment had already been wiped clean from existence.

 

Yuebai was never meant to survive, he was supposed to be just another corpse among the others.

 

No one would have noticed if one was missing.

 

That meant Lansing and Wright were here for something else.

 

And the only recent event on B3024 that could possibly draw the attention of the mermaids… Were the Zergs.

 

The Inner City had definitely received reports about the Zerg attacks.

 

Ruan Shiqing didn’t know how they had handled the situation, but Lansing and Wright landing in Inner City first was enough to prove that they had some connection there.

 

It was possible that the Inner City authorities had passed information to them privately, leading to their independent investigation.

 

Because if this were an official government operation, there should have been widespread coverage, but instead, there had been complete silence.

 

Not a single rumor about Zergs appearing in the Central District had spread online.

 

That meant the government was deliberately suppressing the news.

 

And yet—While the government ignored the situation, the merfolk’s Holy Son had personally traveled in secret to investigate.

 

That alone was highly suspicious.

 

And then there was Lansing’s fixation on the armored walker.

 

Both times he had visited, he had shown particular interest in the walker parked in the yard.

 

And that walker was the exact machine he and 09 had used to kill the Zergs.

 

Too many coincidences.

 

Everything pointed in the same direction.

 

Frowning, Ruan Shiqing saved the surveillance images of Lansing and Wright.

 

He sent them to Marlin, asking him to track their movements.

 

But before he could even follow up on his own investigation… Lansing came knocking again.

 

The blue-haired youth stood at the entrance, holding a damaged blaster rifle, looking helpless.

 

“Mr. Ruan, I’m back again,” he said with a wry smile. “Wright and I got into an argument yesterday, and he accidentally broke this rifle. I was hoping you could take a look at it.”

 

He handed over the damaged weapon.

 

Ruan Shiqing accepted it without a hint of emotion, carefully examining the interior while speaking casually, as if just making small talk.

 

“You’ve come by quite a few times now, but I don’t think I ever caught your name?”

 

The blue-haired youth smiled, his expression harmless and polite.

 

“You can call me Lansing.”

 

If Ruan Yuebai hadn’t already told him the truth, Lansing’s good looks and carefully crafted demeanor would have made it incredibly difficult to suspect him.

 

Inside the blaster, Ruan Shiqing quickly found what was wrong, a part had been deliberately installed incorrectly.

 

This damage wasn’t accidental.

 

Without showing any reaction, he swiftly restored the correct configuration, calibrated the weapon, and casually turned it in his hands, the barrel pointing right at Lansing.

 

“You tampered with this on purpose, didn’t you, Mr. Lansing?”

 

His tone was still light and conversational, as if they were simply chatting.

 

But his finger was resting on the trigger.

 

A silent warning.

 

Lansing didn’t seem shocked or fearful.

 

Instead, his interest only grew.

 

“Mr. Ruan, you really are a smart man,” he said, eyes gleaming. “Don’t you think you’re wasting your talents staying on this garbage planet?”

 

Ruan Shiqing merely shrugged, handing the weapon back.

 

“I won’t question why a high-ranking mermaid like yourself decided to sneak into B3024 in the middle of the night, but I’d appreciate it if you stopped disturbing our peaceful lives.”

 

His tone remained calm and lighthearted, but his meaning was crystal clear.

 

“This garbage planet may not be as prosperous as Sijialan,” he continued, “but on my turf, it’s incredibly easy for me to make someone disappear without a trace.”

 

He smiled as he said it, but the underlying threat was undeniable.

 

“Wouldn’t you agree?”

 

Lansing froze for a split second, caught off guard by how easily Ruan Shiqing had seen through his identity.

 

But realization struck quickly.

 

“047 told you?” Lansing chuckled. “He really does trust you.”

 

But Ruan Shiqing had no intention of entertaining the conversation any further.

 

Turning to 09, he instructed, “See Mr. Lansing out.”

 

09 stepped forward immediately, his presence alone enough of a deterrent.

 

Lansing had seen the armored walker in action, had watched it tear through the Zergs like paper.

 

No words were needed.

 

For the first time, his expression darkened.

 

Dropping his act, his brows furrowed slightly as he said, displeased, “Mr. Ruan, there’s no need for hostility, I meant no harm.”

 

“Let me remind you once more, Mr. Lansing,” Ruan Shiqing said bluntly, “we are not the same. We don’t need to be enemies, but we will never be friends.”

 

“And for the record, ” His gaze sharpened. “There is no 047 here. You must have mistaken him for someone else.”

 

A scoff escaped Lansing’s lips.

 

His eyes flickered toward the passageway leading to the backyard.

 

“So, you’re really just going to hide behind someone else forever?” he sneered. “Too scared to even face me? Are you planning to stay a child forever, clinging to someone else’s protection?”

 

Ruan Shiqing’s expression hardened.

 

He was about to order 09 to remove him by force when…

 

A soft whirring sound filled the air.

 

The wheels of a small cart rolling across the ground.

 

Ruan Yuebai had come out of the backyard, silently approaching.

 

He reached out and gently tugged at his father’s sleeve, then lowered his gaze and began typing.

 

[I want to talk to him.]

 

Ruan Shiqing hesitated.

 

He wasn’t comfortable letting them speak alone.

 

But when he met his son’s determined gaze, he eventually relented.

 

“If that’s what you want,” he said, handing him a compact blaster. “I taught you how to use this, do you remember?”

 

The little mermaid nodded firmly, tucking the weapon away.

 

Lansing, watching from the side, gave a knowing smirk.

 

The two of them stepped out of the yard, walking until they reached the edge of the scrapyard.

 

The little mermaid stopped first, typing out a simple question.

 

[What do you want to say to me?]

 

Lansing didn’t answer immediately.

 

Instead, he crouched slightly, narrowing his eyes as he took in the scars on the little mermaid’s face and neck. Then, he reached out and grazed a fingertip over them.

 

“These are from the lab?”

 

The little mermaid shifted uncomfortably, but still nodded.

 

Lansing’s aura was oppressive, suffocating in its strength, but the little mermaid forced himself not to shrink away.

 

He straightened his back, meeting Lansing’s gaze head-on.

 

[That’s a good thing.]

 

Lansing finally spoke again.

 

His tone was odd, as if he had come to some realization.

 

“At least when I look at you now, I don’t have to feel like I’m looking at myself.”

 

The little mermaid frowned.

 

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

 

As if he wanted to look like Lansing?

 

Annoyed, he quickly typed back:

 

[I’m not 047 anymore. As long as you don’t come looking for me, you’ll never have to see me again.]

 

Lansing chuckled.

 

Tapping his temple with one finger, he mused aloud, “Let me guess, your new name is Ruan Yuebai, right? You took your adoptive father’s surname. He treats you quite well, doesn’t he?”

 

The little mermaid’s brows furrowed.

 

Of course Dad treats me well.

 

Was 074 jealous?

 

Did he resent that he had a loving father?

 

The thought nagged at him, but before he could ask, Lansing suddenly reached out, brushing a finger over the uneven scar on his cheek.

 

“You think you know what I’m thinking?” Lansing mused, his tone mocking. “Well, that’s too bad.”

 

He withdrew his hand and smiled, eyes glinting.

 

“Because I love doing the opposite of what people expect. You’ll see me again.”

 

Taking a step back, Lansing stretched his arms, letting out a small sigh.

 

“But your father is a bit terrifying,” he admitted with a smirk. “So, I’ll let you off for today.”

 

Then, without another word, he turned and strolled back toward his land speeder.

 

Waving a casual goodbye, he hopped in and drove away.

 

 

 

---

 

Lansing… please just go away lmao

 

(Also, I wanted to say something: while I don’t answer each and every comment because I usually schedule chapters in advance and I don’t come on here everyday, I still read each comment everytime and you guys really entertain me with your reactions/comments; I am also discovering the novel as I read, so I’m enjoying seeing us have the same reactions haha! Thank you all for reading <3)

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~