Chapter 143: Breaking the Rules and spending money for something like this... There's nothing I can do...

Of course, it is impossible for XANXUS to "see the situation".

Being able to catch up and check on his unfortunate subordinate to see if he was dead was already a rare act of mercy for him. So why should he consider his subordinate's feelings? The subordinate might be dissatisfied because of this? So what?

Therefore, amidst his subordinates' complaints, Black Lion merely perfunctorily slapped the water twice before backing off a few steps, his head tilted back slightly because the wet fur didn't feel right. "Huh? You're not dead yet? That's ugly."

Squalo: “…………?”

He finally recovered a little after soaking in the water, but was almost suffocated by his jerk boss again: "You are sick... cough cough..."

As Chaomu struggled, his large silver-gray tail splashed water all over his face. Rubbing his face, he quickly pushed the tail back into the tub. "Don't be angry yet, Mr. Squalo. Your tail still looks dry... Wow, a lot of scales have fallen off."

It wasn't just the silver scales, all shades of silver. The unfortunate man was coughing so hard that tears were leaking from the corners of his eyes. She had just picked up two scales when she saw those tears slide down, transforming into sparkling liquid that didn't blend into the water even after falling into it.

"...amazing!" Chaomu was stunned for a moment, then reached out and scooped up a few, squeezing them in his palm. He exclaimed in his limited language, "They're pearls."

Not only does it look similar in appearance, the system's identification result is also a pearl, and the quality is a rare purple color.

[Squaro's Pearls (Purple Quality): When a mermaid cries, her tears transform into pearls. Considering that Squaro's normal species isn't a mermaid when not a pet, these pearls are undoubtedly rare and precious.]

This item can be used to craft special magical accessories, but wearing it in front of or giving it to Squalo may cause NPC Squalo to become enraged. Players should be aware of the risks.

Purple items...fixed output...magic accessories with special effects...

The player held the two pearls in his hands, his eyes lighting up. He scraped the edge of the tub and scanned the bottom. "It seems there are still a few missing... Let me see!"

Squalo, who was caught off guard by her and rushed in, said: "???"

He had been immersing himself in the tub, trying to calm his nerves and recuperate, but before he could even catch his breath, he felt a furry hair brush against his neck and shoulders. Puzzled, he looked up, but before he could utter a single curse, the girl's hand reached down without hesitation, parting the water and groping for the bottom.

The bathtub in the guest room was actually not small, but Squalo was tall, and after turning into a mermaid, a row of translucent fins grew on his arms, filling the bathtub as he stretched his limbs; he also had long hair, and his silver hair spread out like seaweed at the bottom of the water. Whenever Chaomu reached into the water, all he touched was either hair or muscles.

"Where are you touching?" The silver-haired swordsman's body tensed up at her interruption, and his voice rose uncontrollably, "You little brat... cough!"

The shark thrashed about in the tub. The place where he touched was firm and elastic, and occasionally he would be scratched by its scales. Chaomu always had the strange illusion that he was washing and scaling a fish. He frowned slightly and held his arm while he searched carefully. "Don't move, let me look... Strange, where did it fall..."

Squalo had no idea what she was looking for - perhaps because of shame, or perhaps because he didn't want to believe it, he didn't notice that his tears had turned into pearls... Becoming a mermaid was already strange, and this fairy tale setting was undoubtedly even stranger to him, and he didn't want to accept it at all.

His attention was completely focused on the girl... What is this guy messing around in the water for?

The feeling of being touched was already very irritating, but when he came to his senses, he also noticed the "wonder" of this "new body": his perception of water was far better than before, his senses became extremely sensitive, and he could even feel the subtle changes when the water flowed past.

Wonderful... *Italian swear*... Why is this feeling so strange - his body temperature makes him a little addicted to this touch, and his cold body almost instinctively wants to stick to the heat source.

That hand wasn't deliberately taking advantage, and as someone involved, Squalo could clearly sense this. She parted his silver hair in the water, searching the bottom of the tub, and didn't spare a second glance as she passed by the muscles on his waist.

This was also the source of his shame—damn it! Why would he want her hands to rest on his waist? It wasn't his idea to feel comfortable with "human body temperature"… He should be more eager to drown this troublemaker in the bathtub.

The thought of "pulling her into the bathtub" filled the merman's mind quite quickly. The idea was unexpectedly tempting to him, making him want to grab her flailing arms and pull her into the flowing water.

Would she struggle? Would she be unable to breathe underwater? That face, so pretty it could only be described as delicate, yet somehow irritating, would reveal a pained expression. She would open her mouth to breathe, only to be held captive by him...

...My delicate imagination was suddenly interrupted, and a little raccoon inexplicably appeared in my mind, jumping around and holding a sign that said, "The following scenes are not suitable for children. Please do not have any dangerous thoughts during the small animal tea party."

Squalo: “…………?”

His hand was already on her arm, but he suddenly withdrew it before exerting any force. He shook his head inexplicably, trying to get the strange raccoon out of his mind.

Not far away, the black lion, who had retreated because he didn't want to get wet, looked over thoughtfully. When their eyes met, he seemed to see through something and showed a mocking expression.

Squalo: “…………Tsk.”

Good, he was a little angrier now - why was that stupid lion allowed to just stand there and watch? That guy was the culprit... If XANXUS hadn't gone mad because he couldn't have a midnight snack, would the two of them have ended up like this?

This thought did not stop him, and the mermaid successfully completed the action he had always wanted to do. He flicked his tail hard, splashing the water in the bathtub towards the lion beside him. The black lion was completely unprepared for his action and was splashed with water.

When Chaomu looked up from the bathtub holding the five pearls he had collected with great difficulty, he saw a ferocious black lion with wet hair and a rather disheveled look, and a mermaid sitting in the bathtub and laughing at the other person loudly.

Although the buff of the small animal tea party seems to make people become quite childish...but aren't the performances of these two gentlemen who look quite cool when they appear a bit too childish?

"Ha, you rubbish shark," Black Lion broke the deadlock after a brief standoff, his voice filled with anger, "Do you really want to die so badly?"

The merman snorted in response: "Who cares about you? Big cats who don't even dare to go into the water should just forget about it."

Under normal circumstances, they would have probably started fighting - but the raccoon took turns jumping in their heads, reminding them that conflict was prohibited.

Chaomu looked left and right, and seeing that they were just staring at each other with no intention of fighting, he tentatively extended his hand. "If you don't want to fight, can I help Mr. XANXUS dry his fur first? Mr. Squalo, can you soak in it and recover?"

Before Squalo could respond, the black lion tossed its head gracefully, stood up, and walked to her legs.

"Don't waste your time on this garbage." His voice was low and cold. "Let's go."

If he were giving orders like this in human form, Chaomu would probably internally say, "Wow, that's a bit like Reborn-sensei's sadistic style"—and then pretend not to hear. After all, there was no triggering of any quests, no mention of rewards, so there was no need for her to rush into the job.

But if it's in this furry form...

Chaomu surrendered immediately and looked back at the mermaid in the bathtub: "Shall we go first? We'll come back to find you later."

Squalo's face was expressionless.

"...Go away." He squeezed out these few words through his teeth, and his long tail slammed the bathtub hard, splashing high water. "The sight of you makes me upset."

He looked really annoyed, and Chaomu slipped away tactfully, closing the door considerately.

The Black Lion had no intention of being considerate of his subordinates. He sat on her bed, wagging his tail, waiting for her to get a towel to wipe his fur.

...It's a good thing Chaomu didn't sleep at night, otherwise her blood pressure would have risen sharply when she saw the big black cat shaking water on her bed.

She sat down on the bed and took a large towel to wipe his fur. The mermaid didn't actually splash a lot of water, so only the outer part of the long-haired black lion was wet, while the part closer to the body was relatively dry.

He was big in size, with thick muscles and fur on his tentacles. Chaomu quietly rested his chin on his back while wiping him, and opened his palm to weigh the lion: it was very heavy, and the fur was very thick. If it got wet, it would probably be like a soaked blanket in the south, absorbing moisture, solid, and extremely heavy.

Fortunately, XANXUS is not in this state every day... otherwise it would be very expensive to give it a bath, and most pet shops wouldn't be able to take on this job.

It's a bit heavy, but it feels really good... It's much bigger than my breasts, so it must be very comfortable as a pillow...

Tears streamed from the corners of the player's mouth.

But then again, big cats are certainly delicious, but mermaids that produce pearls are still more...

Thinking of Pearl, Chaomu quietly opened the production list while brushing the big cat's fur to see what props Pearl could make.

Something like a diving pill that allows you to swim freely in water, and a more advanced water repellent charm that costs 500 pearls. You can also create an enchantment that increases weapon sharpness, boosting the damage output of vacuum cleaners... Raccoon White Gloves has an evolutionary branch that uses this item? It increases the chance of getting "Swordsman" items... At least 800 pearls are needed!

The player looked at the pitiful 5 pearls in his backpack, and for a moment he wanted to go back to the bathroom and beat up Mr. Mermaid to see if he could cry more miserably.

Pearls are precious, but their production is limited. She gritted her teeth, pondering what to do, when an idea suddenly struck her: perhaps she could make Squalo her pet...

But where would she get a pet slot? The one unlocked by upgrading is already occupied by Shen Er. Does she really have to spend 648 to unlock it? That's too much of a rip-off! If only it were a little cheaper...

It was at this moment that the system popped up a pop-up window.

[Limited-time gift pack! 100,000x discount! Only 30 yuan! 30 yuan unlocks 1 limited-time pet column and monthly card benefits!]

[Click here to view the details of the gift package, countdown: 4:59]

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The author has something to say: There are only the first and countless times of krypton gold...

I was shocked. I got my first red lock in this chapter.