The little merfolk settled into his new home.
Following the doctor’s advice, Ruan Shiqing prepared a half-person-high metal barrel filled with water and infused with healing solutions. The merfolk now resided in it.
He was an exceptionally well-behaved child. Most of the time, he was quiet, and even the occasional splashes from his tail seemed cautious.
When Ruan Shiqing was home, the merfolk would perch on the edge of the barrel, staring at him intently, his blue eyes as bright as gemstones. When Ruan Shiqing wasn’t around, he would silently sink to the bottom, curling up with his tail like an abandoned little creature.
He never resisted taking his medicine, drinking each dose diligently and neatly placing the empty tubes aside, striving to minimize any trouble or burden on Ruan Shiqing.
His obedient demeanor was heart-wrenching.
Over the past few days, Ruan Shiqing had been house hunting with the Xiong brothers. He could carry the puppy with him, but the little merfolk had to stay behind. Passing a street vendor, his attention was caught by a stand of yellow rubber ducks.
“How much for these?” he asked.
“Six star coins each, or two for ten.”
“I’ll take two.” Ruan Shiqing paid and casually slipped the palm-sized ducks into his coat.
Rong Heng batted at them with a paw, looking unimpressed. Childish.
Ruan Shiqing was on his way to view another property. During his three-day stay in the Inner City, the Xiong brothers had scouted several decent houses for him. After ensuring the merfolk was settled, he had already looked at three. However, none were entirely satisfactory, leaving this final option.
“This one is near the underground market, so it gets plenty of foot traffic. The first floor could easily be converted into a shop, and the house is spacious. The downside is that it’s old—really old,” Xiong Fangfang had warned.
If Xiong Fangfang called it old, it had to be ancient.
Standing in front of the two-story house, overgrown with some unknown vine, Ruan Shiqing was taken aback.
Though the Outer City was already impoverished and rundown, this street—surrounding the underground market—was relatively bustling, filled with competing repair shops. The previous owner of this house, an evolver, had lived here for 80 years before saving enough money to move into the Inner City. In his haste to sell the property, he was offering it for 100,000 star coins, cash only.
Pushing aside the dense vines, Ruan Shiqing stepped inside for a look.
It was indeed spacious.
The reason he had turned down the other three properties was their lack of space. He wanted to run a repair shop on the first floor and have a workspace. With his habit of hoarding materials, a smaller place would soon overflow.
Planning for the long term, he decided to invest in something larger from the start.
“This will do,” Ruan Shiqing concluded after exploring both floors. Though it was old, he could gradually repair and upgrade it. Space was a non-negotiable, while age was fixable.
The deal was quickly settled at 90,000 star coins.
In the Outer City, transactions were informal. A simple agreement was signed, payment was made, and the property officially changed hands.
Ruan Shiqing and the Xiong brothers spent half a day trimming the overgrown vines before heading home to check on the little merfolk.
By now, night had fallen. The two moons cast overlapping shadows underfoot, and the relentless hum of machinery filled the air. Even the wind carried a metallic tang of rust.
From a distance, their temporary home—two upturned spacecraft hulls nestled side by side—was visible.
Ruan Shiqing felt a strange sense of disconnection, as though this world were the real one, while the one in his memories was gradually fading into a dream.
Pushing the door open, he heard soft splashes. Flicking on the light, he saw the little merfolk perched on the edge of his barrel, his wet blue hair draped over his shoulders, looking both quiet and well-behaved.
Rong Heng followed Ruan Shiqing in, peeking at the merfolk before curling his lip in disdain. Wet, slimy, and reeking of fish.
Snatching the two rubber ducks, he trotted off.
“How was your day?” Ruan Shiqing approached, ruffling the merfolk’s hair.
The child nodded and pointed to the stool where two empty tubes—one for medicine and one for nutrient solution—were neatly arranged.
The third tube of nutrients remained untouched.
“Why haven’t you finished this one? Don’t like it?” Ruan Shiqing asked, uncapping the tube and handing it over.
The little merfolk shook his head, cradling the tube as he gazed at Ruan Shiqing, his eyes bright with anticipation. He tightened his grip on Ruan Shiqing’s hand and tried to make a sound. “Ah.”
Realizing what he meant, Ruan Shiqing laughed. “Were you waiting to share it with me?”
The merfolk nodded, then began sipping the solution, obedient as ever.
“Got you a present today.” Heart softening, Ruan Shiqing retrieved the rubber ducks from Rong Heng, waving them before the merfolk.
The child’s eyes widened, fixed on the ducks. His tail swished anxiously under the water, but he hesitated to reach out, as if not daring to believe.
“You can’t go outside, so these will keep you company,” Ruan Shiqing said, placing the ducks on the water. The yellow toys bobbed and floated, endearingly cheerful.
The merfolk stared, then flicked his tail to create ripples that nudged the ducks around.
“Ah!” Turning to Ruan Shiqing, his blue eyes crinkled in a smile.
“As long as you like them,” Ruan Shiqing replied, smiling back. “When we move into the new house, I’ll get you more.”
Rong Heng: ???
These weren’t for me?
He shot the merfolk a glare before curling up in the corner again.
Hmph, cheap, childish trinkets. Only a naïve, inexperienced synthetic merfolk would find them appealing.
*
It took three days of cleaning and arranging furniture, but on the fourth day, Ruan Shiqing finally moved into his new home with his “little ones.”
The overgrown vines climbing the walls had been trimmed and neatly kept, turning into a charming green embellishment that gave the building a vibrant and lively feel. The courtyard fence was reinforced, weeds were cleared, and hardy shrubs were transplanted to add a touch of greenery.
Above the front door of the first floor hung a distinctive sign, hand-painted by Ruan Shiqing with the Chinese character Ruan1It’s also the same character as a chinese lute.
It was not only the name of his shop but also a testament to the existence of his original world.
Xiong Yuanyuan, who couldn’t read Chinese, still sang its praises enthusiastically, “This is the most unique shop name I’ve ever seen!”
Ruan Shiqing chuckled and sent him to check if the doctor had arrived.
His circle of friends in this world was small—besides the Xiong brothers, there was only the doctor he’d become acquainted with because of the little merman.
“Here he comes!”
Even from a distance, Xiong Yuanyuan’s voice could be heard. Ruan Shiqing glanced out the window, put the little merman into his new water tank, and hurried downstairs to greet the doctor.
The merman hovered in the water, peering curiously out of the window. His new tank was three times the size of the old one and was placed by the second-floor living room’s window. Just a slight lean forward offered a view of the world outside.
His blue eyes grew wider as he took in the scene, finding beauty in the desolate Outer City that was entirely new to him.
Look at this wide-eyed newbie.
Rong Heng, crouching nearby, shot him a glance before turning away disdainfully.
…
To celebrate the move, Ruan Shiqing had brought back several dishes and two bottles of malt beer from a restaurant in the Inner City.
In the interstellar era, proper meals were a luxury, with synthetic nutrient solutions being the staple food. It was rare to enjoy a real feast, and everyone was in high spirits.
However, the body Ruan Shiqing now inhabited had a poor alcohol tolerance. After just three glasses of beer, he was tipsy.
After seeing off the Xiong brothers and the doctor, he wobbled up to the second floor, slid down to sit against the merman’s wooden tank, and stretched lazily on the soft mat in the living room.
Watching the sunset dip below the horizon, he murmured, “This place isn’t so bad after all.”
Though the beginning had been rough, everything was starting to improve.
More importantly, he no longer felt that inexplicable loneliness.
Leaning against the tank, Ruan Shiqing dozed off.
He slept deeply, well into the night.
The little merman called out softly twice, trying to wake him but to no avail. He didn’t dare pull too hard on Ruan Shiqing’s hair and began anxiously swimming in circles. Periodically, he glanced at Rong Heng, who was lounging nearby.
Rong Heng stretched and got up, sauntering over to check on the sleeping youth. After confirming that he was deeply asleep, Rong Heng transformed back into his human form.
Bending down, he effortlessly scooped Ruan Shiqing into his arms.
The sudden change left the little merman stunned. His wide eyes stared in confusion.
“Not a word, understand?” Rong Heng gestured with a finger in a threatening manner.
The merman nodded but then shook his head, looking worriedly at Ruan Shiqing.
“Tch, almost forgot—you can’t even speak,” Rong Heng muttered. Carrying Ruan Shiqing into the bedroom, he tucked him in and then casually took the youth’s newly purchased neural interface bracelet.
The device, which perfectly fit Ruan Shiqing’s wrist, was easily removed by Rong Heng.
Shutting the bedroom door, he sat by the living room window. In his hands, the bracelet quickly transformed into a simplified neural link helmet.
Donning the helmet, he connected to the virtual network.
An emotionless mechanical voice began to warn, “Unauthorized user detected. Access denied. Unauthorized user detected…”
Ignoring the alerts, Rong Heng issued a series of commands.
The mechanical voice swiftly transitioned to a steady female tone: “Greetings, Your Highness. It has been a long time.”
“Noah, connect me to Dares.”
“Please hold, Your Highness.”
In the virtual space, streams of code flashed and vanished.
Moments later, a figure materialized. The man strode forward excitedly, clearly ready to embrace Rong Heng. “Your Highness, you’re alive! Like the old saying goes, only the truly wicked survive. I knew you wouldn’t die so easily!”
“Mind your words, Colonel Dares.” Rong Heng sidestepped the attempt at a hug, frowning with disdain. “Enough nonsense. What’s the status of the Yanji front? Any moves from Sikkim?”
Hearing the serious questions, Dares sobered, his expression growing grim. “Asman fell in battle. After news of your death spread, the Zerg forces launched a massive assault on the front lines. I suspect…” Dares hesitated before gritting his teeth to voice his grim suspicion: “I suspect there’s a Zerg infiltrator within the Empire.”
The war between the Galactic Empire and the Zerg had raged for over a millennium.
The Zerg, a race without intelligence and entirely controlled by a queen, were physically formidable. As the Empire grew stronger over the past two millennia, so did the Zerg.
In recent years, the conflict had reached a fever pitch, with neither side willing to relent.
Every year, the Empire sent countless soldiers to the four major battle zones to fend off the Zerg and protect the peace of its rear territories.
As the Crown Prince, a powerful Ymirian, it was Rong Heng’s duty to stand at the forefront.
Since entering his growth phase, he had been stationed at the Yanji front, holding the line.
Only recently, after completing his growth phase and stepping into adulthood—according to Ymirian age calculations—had he been summoned back to Sikkim by his father, the Regent, to prepare for his coronation.
But on his return journey, at the Baghdad District jump point, he had been ambushed by an enemy fleet.
Out of his entire convoy, he was the sole survivor.
Oh that took a deeper twist…
Also, you may have noticed it already, but the author kinda uses the same name from real places in our world (like Baghdad, Sikkim, Yanji) I’m not sure why but eh, it is what it is…?
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for the chapter translator-sama ~~