A mermaid who can "manage herself"

"Hahahaha... You really are an expert! You could tell at a glance!"

With a hearty laugh, Li Liguo walked in, his hands behind his back. The previously noisy office fell silent instantly, and the young researchers all looked down at the floor, pretending that the person who had been laughing and joking was someone else.

“That’s right, this one is indeed a Golden Scale species.” Li Liguo squinted at the trembling little mermaid in the tank, then looked at Shen Huai’an with an inquisitive expression: “Speaking of which, it’s a distant relative of yours, Mr. Shen?”

? !

Holy crap! Big news!

Mr. Shen is actually a mermaid?!

If "Mr. Shen" is indeed Chief Shen, then...

"My goodness...am I dreaming...?"

Aiqiqi, who was the most outspoken, looked up at the ceiling, muttering to herself, looking utterly bewildered. The other researchers exchanged bewildered glances, inwardly shocked, while pretending not to have heard or known anything.

"Not really." Shen Huai'an smiled, but his words were extremely malicious: "The difference between it and me is about the same as the difference between a gorilla and a human."

Whether it was a misperception or not, the moment these words left her mouth, Yunhe noticed that the golden mermaid in the tank seemed to suddenly quiet down, her long eyelashes drooping down, barely concealing the venomous look in her beautiful green eyes.

...Hmm, I must have been rushing to finish the report lately and misread it. That must be it.

Yunhe thus numbed himself.

“Golden-scaled mermaids are a rare breed,” Li Liguo straightened his expression slightly and coughed, “No more than ten have been discovered worldwide to date. Of course, silver-scaled… cough cough, anyway, this S-class mermaid—S2—will be your temporary responsibility!”

The last sentence wasn't directed at Shen Huai'an, but at Yun He, who was quietly playing on his phone behind Shen Huai'an. Hearing the leader call his name, Yun He jumped in fright, nearly throwing his phone and hitting Li Liguo's old face! "Ah! Ah?"

Then he raised his hand and pointed behind his nose: "...It's me again?"

Seriously? You've already been in charge of an S-class experimental subject, and you're doing it again?!

“Yes, Researcher Xiaoyun.” Li Liguo forced out a smile that he thought was kind but was actually extremely cunning and lewd: “The capable should do more! Young people shouldn’t think about lying down all day, they should take advantage of their youth to make something of themselves!”

Yunhe: "..."

Old Bi, you! You! Your whole family! I!

————————————

"Um, Mr. Shen..."

Upon hearing this voice, Yunhe couldn't help but sigh silently to himself.

She didn't even need to look up; she knew who it was. —Zhang Can

Ever since Li Liguo "unintentionally" revealed Shen Huai'an's true identity, the entire gene-editing team had been looking at Shen Huai'an strangely for the next few days. Zhang Can was the strangest among them, without a doubt.

—Because she now makes excuses almost every day and tries her best to create every opportunity to have "zero-distance contact" with Shen Huai'an, just like a hardworking and devoted true stalker fan.

"So what excuse will it be this time?" Yun wondered listlessly. "Yes, it must be, 'Is there anything wrong with this report? Could you please check it out?'"

"Is there anything wrong with this report? Can you help me?"

Before he could even utter the words "give it a shot," Shen Huai'an turned around, raised his hand, and patted Yun He on the shoulder: "Researcher Yun, you're better at reviewing data, can you lend a hand?"

I'll fucking swear to you! Do you think I'm not busy enough already?

Yun He was so angry she almost blew her non-existent beard into the sky. But the next second, Shen Huai'an's voice echoed in her heart:

Help me get rid of her; I'll take care of S2.

Okay, it's a deal.

She responded weakly in her heart.

That's what they say. After all, it's something her boss specifically asked her to take charge of "personally," so how could she possibly refuse?

"Oh God, my Aphrodite... Ah, I'm dead."

In the days that followed, the gene-editing team basically split into two major factions. One, led by Aiqiqi, who was squatting in front of the giant fish tank with a lovesick expression, firmly regarded S2 as a goddess—even though both the test results and other evidence were enough to prove that it didn't have a clear gender yet, but male or female wasn't out of the question (not really)—and "believed" in it just the same; the other was...

"What are you drawing? Let me see."

"No--!"

Elsa, flustered, snatched the draft paper from Yunhe's hand, a blush spreading across her fair face. Yunhe unfolded it and read—

Wow!

Her long silver hair cascaded down like flowing clouds, her upper body lay prone on the shore, a hint of pain on her stunningly beautiful face, her long fishtail submerged in the water, and the black chains wrapped around her tail fin were faintly visible...

This "antique" anime art style!

This honey-sweet angle is so delicious!

Honey, I'm hungry, time for dinner!

—Wait…this is a nanny!

The old woman has reached the head of Shen Huai'an... and she's still so captivating...

"..." Yunhe, for some reason, pointed very seriously at the chain on the fish tail and corrected him:

"This area should be white. And you've drawn it too conservatively."

If Elsa had seen with her own eyes the Shen Huai'an who was initially bound like a dumpling by seven chains, she would have been so excited she would have ascended to heaven on the spot.

Elsa was utterly bewildered, her pupils dilated and her face contorted in shock. (Image: "...")

"It's very well drawn, but don't draw again next time." Yunhe finally remembered her role as "responsible researcher," and immediately confiscated (claimed) her wife's painting with a stern face, saying seriously. Elsa bit her lip in grievance, then gave a standard, ingratiating smile: "Sister Yun~"

"You, you should talk this out." Yunhe stammered, overwhelmed by Elsa's beauty—to be fair, Elsa was truly beautiful, the kind of beauty that even she, as a woman, found pitiful. Seeing an opening, Elsa pressed her advantage, lowering her voice to whisper in her ear, "The team gathering is tomorrow, can Mr. Shen attend?"

This little girl actually figured out that he was Shen Huai'an's researcher? Yun He's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't show it on her face: "Ah, well, you can ask Director Li—"

"Ask him? With Director Li's personality, how could he possibly agree?"

Elsa looked disdainful and wary, while simultaneously pleading, "Oh, Sister Yun~ please think of a way, the institute will always be lenient, right~"

Yunhe opened her mouth, as if to say something, when suddenly a jeering voice rang out from the other side—though not loud, she heard it clearly; it was a jeering performance.

"Change one! Teacher Shen, change one!"

Those bastards who love to watch the drama unfold!

Yunhe immediately panicked. She rushed over to try and help Shen Huai'an out of the predicament, but to her surprise, Shen Huai'an stood in the crowd, showing no signs of stage fright whatsoever.

"Oh? What do you want to see? The tail, or..."

"Sink...!"

In her exasperation, Yunhe nearly blurted out his real name. Shen Huai'an, however, seemed not to hear her and continued to smile broadly at the crowd. Ai Qiqi was the first to raise her hand: "Of course, it's the tail! I wonder how long the tail of a real silver-scaled mermaid—and you're male…"

"I want to see ear fins!"

"I don't ask for much, just let me see the gill slits!"

...

It's a mess. Completely a mess.

In that instant, everyone seemed to forget the GI Research Institute's strict rules that frequently crossed the line, the various confidentiality agreements they had signed, and that they were merely the most insignificant cogs in the machine. Everyone seemed to be experiencing an unprecedented thrill of "idol worship," even if that "idol" was just a pitiful mermaid trapped in a laboratory...

"I'm sorry," Shen Huai'an, the protagonist of the incident, shrugged after patiently listening to everyone's cacophony of "cyber wishes," revealing a slightly helpless expression: "Not today, after all..."

He raised his hand and touched the restraint on his neck, raising an eyebrow: "Still wearing a dog leash."

"Pfft!" Someone chuckled first, and then everyone burst into laughter, lightening the slightly tense atmosphere considerably. Yunhe finally breathed a sigh of relief—then checked his watch.

"It's six o'clock in the evening." She walked up to him with a stern face and gently took his hand: "It's time to go back."

——————————

"Collection will be completed promptly at 6 PM."

The meaning of recycling is actually very simple—the freedom during the day is all illusory, and when the time comes, Cinderella's pumpkin carriage will eventually reveal its true form.

Under the watchful eyes of five superhuman security guards, Yunhe led the mermaid to a bedroom inside the laboratory. Though called a bedroom, it was more like a makeshift "prison cell":

The windows were sealed with special metal, and the walls were entirely covered with electromagnetic shielding material. Four specially made chains extended from the four corners of the bed. Yun first settled him down, then expertly pulled over one of the chains: "Put it on yourself."

Security guards: "..."

Shen Huai'an: "..."

Shen Huai'an hesitated for a moment before blinking and saying, "Researcher Yun, you..." He carefully chose his words and gave an extremely tactful evaluation: "Indeed, minimalism."

I've seen lazy people, but I've never seen anyone this lazy. A prison guard made the inmate lock himself up—I'm living off this lame joke all year, hahaha.

"Nonsense, are you going to do it or not?"

Yun He deliberately put on a stern face and scolded. Shen Huai'an chuckled, but could only "go along with him," shaking his head as he did so: "Researcher Yun, you're making me feel more and more like a certain meme."

"What?" Yunhe didn't react for a moment and asked.

“A dog, with its leash in its mouth.” Shen Huai’an blinked and smiled, “And below that is a line of text—”

She has an extremely strong sense of self-management.

Yunhe: "..."