Chapter 67 Searching, Searching, Searching

In the white ward, the smell of disinfectant overwhelmed the lingering scent of Epiphyllum on Yu Li's body.

He leaned on the hospital bed, his tail fin limply resting on the edge of the bed. His scales had lost their former luster and were now a faint grayish-white. The dehydration from the whole night had left him without the strength to even raise his hands.

Early this morning, Plan found it through location tracking.

When I opened the hotel room door, there was no one else there. I only saw him curled up on the floor, his consciousness a little blurred.

"How do you feel, Your Majesty?"

The doctor in a white coat pushed up his glasses and handed him the examination report, his tone filled with unconcealed solemnity:

"Thankfully, I applied the inhibitor patch last night, which prevented the loss of pheromones from being too severe. However, the examination results show that your physical condition is more complicated than we expected."

Yu Li only felt a headache and no strength in his body.

He reached out to take the report, his eyes falling on the line that read "shrinkage of the caudal fin gland." His voice was as hoarse as sandpaper: "Shrinkage of the gland...what does that mean?"

Pulan stood aside and took the report from his hand. "What kind of disease is this? This is the first time I've heard that the gland can shrink."

"Simply put, the core gland in your tail responsible for secreting mermaid pheromones is gradually shrinking and is even at risk of being rapidly absorbed by the body."

The doctor pointed to the scan image next to the bed, with a red arrow marking the location of the gland.

"Look here. Compared to the physical examination data from six months ago, it has shrunk by about one-third. If it continues to shrink, you may lose your mermaid characteristics, or even... no longer be able to maintain your current form."

Yu Li thought about the doctor's words. He subconsciously touched his tail fin. Under the cold scales, he could feel the faint pulsation of the gland.

Doctor: "Your condition is rare. We cannot predict whether the gland will disappear or what changes will occur in your body after it disappears."

The doctor said, "Don't worry, though. We've found the rudiments of a second gland in the back of your neck. Perhaps it's because of your special constitution that the gland is involved in your metabolism."

Doctor: "To put it simply, you lose a gland and another one grows in another place."

"The second gland?" Pu Lan shouted excitedly and began to look through the report. He moved closer to Yu Li and said, "Look, the second gland is located at the back of your neck..."

The doctor sighed and pulled up the scan image of his neck: “There is an even more difficult problem. We found a second pheromone gland on the side of your neck.

This situation is extremely rare in mermaids. It is still in the development stage. If it continues to grow, it may stimulate your estrus period to be irregular, so you should always carry inhibitors with you just in case. "

Yu Li suddenly remembered what happened last night. His mammary glands were damaged last night.

Could it be related to the second gland?

"Cisana's medical technology...can't solve the problem?"

Plan was pacing anxiously, "We can invite foreign experts over!"

The doctor shook his head and said frankly, "Mermaids have a unique glandular structure, and this second gland is a first. We haven't even fully understood its developmental mechanism, let alone intervention and treatment."

He pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Yu Li. "This is my mentor. He currently works at the medical school in the capital of the Antia Empire. They have a state-of-the-art mermaid physiology research center there. Maybe they can find a solution."

Yu Li held the business card.

Antia?

His heart trembled slightly.

In last night's dream, Qi Sheng also mentioned Antia...

Plan said, "Antia is not friendly to the mermaid community. How could there be an institution studying mermaids?"

The doctor said, "You may have some misunderstanding about Antia. Medical technology there is very advanced. There have been institutions studying mermaids for hundreds of years. Moreover, it is close to the harbor, and many mermaids have settled there."

Plan was a little reluctant to believe it: "Really? Then what should we do now?"

"I have to carry suppressant patches with me. I'd better not take suppressants."

"This method can only temporarily suppress the activity of the second gland. It's only a temporary solution. You should go to Antia for further examination as soon as possible. Your tail fin gland is shrinking rapidly, so you can't delay any longer."

"I understand." He said slowly, "I will arrange the trip to Antia."

The doctor breathed a sigh of relief, gave a few more instructions, and then turned and left.

Only Yu Li and Pu Lan were left in the ward. The air was so quiet that one could hear the ticking of the instruments.

"Your Majesty, are you really going to Antia?"

Plan asked worriedly, "I actually have a friend who was abused there. His life was worse than death!"

What kind of country is Antia that causes so many people to have such polarized opinions about it?

"Plan, go check who the supreme leader of Antia is, and... check if there is an alpha named Qi Sheng."

"Okay, I'll check now."

…

By the time Plan came over with the information he had found, it was already late at night and Yu Li had fallen asleep on the hospital bed.

Plan didn't dare to disturb him and wanted to leave quietly.

"Have you found out?" Yu Li suddenly sat up, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"I thought you were asleep. This is all the information they have released to the public. Qi Sheng is not among the current employees of the Antia government."

When Yu Li opened it, he saw the name "Zhai Mo".

Zhai Wenxi's father? Could it really be him last night?

Yu Li couldn't wait any longer. He pulled the monitor off his hand, put on his coat and walked out the door. "Let's go now, to Antia."

Plan watched the man check the information for a whole day and night. Only when Yu Li left did he react and hurried to follow him.

…

At the same time, Zhai Wenxi and Jing Yue had just gotten off the plane and arrived at the Independent Kingdom of Xisana.

For unknown reasons, Antia rejected all visiting letters from staff of the government of the Independent Kingdom of Xisana.

They had no choice but to find an intermediary and use fake identity information to get on a plane and come here.

Zhai Wenxi sneered while holding the forged passport in his mouth, but in reality, he was trying to amuse Jing Yue: "Who would have thought that I, the dignified Crown Prince of the Empire, would now have to rely on scalpers to sneak across the border."

Jing Yue sat in the seat next to him and pretended not to hear anything.

As soon as the plane landed, Qi Sheng's message popped up:

【I'm back】

[The susceptible period suddenly came earlier]

Zhai Wenxi didn't reply to Qi Sheng the first time. Instead, he quickly called Qi Sheng's attending physician: "Hello, doctor, please come to see him. Qi Sheng's condition is not good...Okay, thank you."

Jing Yue, wearing a mask and sunglasses, looked at Zhai Wenxi's worried expression and handed him a bottle of mineral water. "You two really have a good relationship."

"Of course, we grew up naked, how could it be bad..." Zhai Wenxi became proud when talking about his friends.

"Alright." Jing Yue interrupted him, "Let's go meet someone first, and then we can proceed as planned tomorrow."

Zhai Wenxi suddenly narrowed his eyes in alertness: "It's so late, who are you going to meet?"

Zhai Wenxi chased after him, "You didn't find another one outside without telling me, did you?"

"Hey, Yueyue, you can't be so unfaithful to your husband. What happened to the agreement that I'm the only mistress? Your body definitely can't handle too many alphas..."

Jing Yue suddenly stopped, took off his sunglasses, and sternly warned: "...Shut up, if you keep talking nonsense, don't follow me."

——

That night, Yu Li arrived at Antia International Airport.

As soon as I walked out of the terminal, several betas in flowered shirts surrounded me with shrewd smiles on their faces.

One of the betas reached out to pull Yu Li's arm, but was blocked by Plan in time.

"Hey, young man, don't hide! Looking at your figure and looks, I promise to find you a rich businessman to support you, so you won't have to worry about food and clothing!"

"That's right, it's definitely right to follow us!"

Another beta came over, his eyes darting between Yu Li and Pu Lan. "What kind of person do you want? Someone gentle and wealthy, or someone powerful and influential? I have a wide network of contacts, so I can find them all for you!"

Yu Li frowned and stepped back, looking over the crowd at the sign for "Antiya Government Office Area" in the distance.

He had figured it out in the hospital last night that if he wanted to find Zhai Mo, he would have to go to his office and wait for him.

This matter involves Qi Sheng, so he has to handle it privately and cannot meet him as the king.

When the king meets with officials from other countries, there will be records of the visits and staff will record their conversations.

But as soon as they approached the "Antiya Government Office Area", they were stopped by guards.

The area within five kilometers is a restricted area and non-working employees are not allowed to enter.

"Plan, come here."

Yu Li lowered his voice and pulled Pu Lan to a corner. "Breaking in by force might not work. We can only find a way to sneak into the staff living area. I heard they all live in the same planned area."

Puran interrupted with his arms: Damai.

But when he saw Yu Li's persistent expression, he silently lowered his arm and said, "Your Majesty, what should we do now?"

Yu Li glanced at the betas who were still looking around not far away, and suddenly an idea popped up in his mind, "Go ask them how to get into the home of a high-ranking government official."

Plan was stunned for a moment, but still walked over with courage.

After a while, he came back with one of the betas who looked a bit honest.

"He said that high-ranking government officials all live in Area F, and outsiders are also not allowed to enter there."

Plan lowered his voice, "But he can introduce us to a place where we can be 'escorts'. As long as the employer agrees, we can walk around freely there. However, they want a commission."

Yu Li: "How much do you want?"

Beta immediately took over, rubbing his hands and laughing, "Let me tell you, the employers I introduce are all big shots!

As long as you serve me well, not only can I move around in Area F, but even meeting the Head of State is possible!

But! You have to give me three months' commission as an introduction fee! "

"That's too much!" Plan immediately retorted, "We just arrived in Antia and don't have that much money. One month at most!"

"Hey! Are you sending away beggars? I have many successful cases. Many mermaids are treated like treasures when they enter the homes of high-ranking officials!"

Bet was eager to show Yu Li the photos of those successful cases.

Plan refused outright, "One and a half months' commission at most. It's useless to ask for more!"

The two bargained for a long time and finally settled on "one month and twenty-nine days' commission".

Afterwards, the beta agent expertly asked Yu Li to fill out a simple information form, took a photo of his profile, and said, "Wait, I'll send it to the employer right away. I'll have news in half an hour at the earliest."

Yu Li stood where he was, his fingertips quietly touching the inhibitor patch on the side of his neck. The cool touch made him feel a little relieved.

As long as it's not a casual estrus, it won't delay his plans.

About an hour later, Beta came running over with his phone in hand, his face full of surprise. "It's done! An employer wants to meet you! I'll send you the address, I'll be there right away!"