Qi Qi returned to his room, which was surrounded by pink coral. The room had a semi-open ceiling, and when he was asleep, the coral above his head didn't seem to provide complete shade.

He landed on the seashell bed to sleep, with a large pearl emitting a faint glow beside his pillow.

I slept well all night.

Early the next morning, Qi Qi didn't plan to check if the protagonist had arrived on the island; he had more important things to do.

For this purpose, he swam for almost an hour and found a place with few people and few fish. The place had plenty of sunlight, and there were rocks he could lean against. The rocks weren't high, and with his tail in the sea, surrounded by the ocean, it was a perfect spot...

Sing.

"Cough cough."

Qi Qi touched his neck with his fingers. Merfolk are born to sing, but with some training, they can be even better. Recalling the feeling of singing in his memory, he began to sing.

“a～～～”

"..."

Qi Qi immediately covered his mouth, a little excited.

“a～～～～～”

"..."

How strange, how did this sound come out of my own mouth? It sounds so good!!!

[Tongtong! Listen quickly!]

“a～～～”

A short, beautiful melody slowly flowed from her red lips, it was very pleasant to listen to.

System: [Good, try connecting them.]

Qi Qi recalled another part and began: "Ahhhhhh..."

This time, he sang for a full ten minutes, singing whatever came to mind. A complete and melodious tune came naturally from his throat. The short sections strung together actually sounded pretty good, without any particularly abrupt feeling.

Because his mood was peaceful and his singing was gentle and beautiful, at some point, a group of silver fish suddenly surrounded Qi Qi, swimming around the rock where he was, dancing up, down, left, and right in sync with his voice.

[Hey, this is amazing! I thought I was doomed if I couldn't remember, but it turns out that singing is something ingrained in merfolk; they just know how to sing as soon as they open their mouths!]

Qi Qi was overjoyed, his eyes and hair beaming with happiness. He lay on his back on the rocks, his pearly skin and tail shimmering in the sun. The cool sea was very comfortable, and the sun-warmed rocks were also very pleasant. He continued to hum a song.

When sung peacefully, the fish swim calmly; when sung hurriedly, the fish become agitated, sad, or angry... I couldn't sense it for the time being, so I started trying to hum the lullaby sung by the petrel and the pearl.

The fish were almost motionless, drifting with the waves. Qi Qi hurriedly reached out to grab them, but they slipped from his grasp.

"Huh? Did you sing it wrong?"

"Splash..."

It's the scent of our own kind.

A splash of water rose from above his head. Qi Qi squinted to look, and his eyes fell upon a large, firm, white chest, followed by fiery red hair.

Lan brushed a drop of water onto Qi Qi's brow: "You didn't sing it wrong."

Qi Qi propped himself up to look at him. Compared to his own weak and frail physique, the man opposite him, with his well-defined muscles under the sunlight, looked more like a finely sculpted marble. He was beautiful, but he exuded a strong and subtly oppressive aura.

This merman named Lan is really huge.

"Really?"

“Every mermaid’s tune is unique. You have already mastered it without a teacher and learned the tune that best suits you. That’s great.”

This fish is really good at praising.

Qi Qi was very happy to be praised, but because he wasn't very familiar with him, he was also a little embarrassed: "Don't praise me. My hypnosis doesn't work on fish. They run away as soon as I try to catch them."

Lan said seriously, "Just practice a few more times and you'll get it. I always tell you, if you don't understand something, come and ask me. Look, lower your voice a little here, and try changing 'a~' to 'a——~'?"

Qi Qi tried it and exclaimed in surprise, "It really works much better! Teacher Lan, you're amazing!"

Lan couldn't help but touch his head, and handed the semi-transparent fish in her left hand to Qi Qi: "You call me uncle one minute and teacher the next... your favorite silver-tailed fish."

Qi Qi quickly refused, "No, no, you eat it yourself, I just... uh,"

I completely forgot to eat dinner last night and breakfast this morning.

Lan had already cut open the fish's belly with her fingertips.

The movements were fluid and effortless. Before Qi Qi could even react, a piece of tender and delicious meat was stuffed into his mouth. It was boneless, and after chewing it a couple of times, he found it to be incredibly flavorful with a hint of sweetness.

Qi Qi quickly adapted to eating raw food.

"tasty!"

Her eyes crinkled with laughter, and her soft, honey-like voice praised the person in front of her with great pleasure.

"Thank you, Uncle Lan."

Lan looked down at him and said, "You're welcome."

There's something I think I should tell you.

The most beautiful little prince in the sea looked up at him, his eyes filled with pure blue.

Lan paused, his voice low and deep: "Your mother, our king, is in a very bad situation right now."

"You don't want anything to happen to her, do you?"

Qi Qi was stunned. In an instant, images of the Mermaid King's mother looking unwell flashed through his mind from several fragments of the original owner's memories.

"What's wrong with Mother?"

Lan slightly raised her head, as if recalling something.

“In recent years, fewer and fewer humans have come here. Half a year ago, Wang and I were tracking a shark on the edge of that island when we accidentally discovered a secret passage under the island. Following that passage, we arrived at the giant castle in the center of the island, which our ancestors had kept silent about.”

Qi Qi stared at him intently: "What does it matter if my mother's condition isn't good?"

Lan said, "It's related. That was a viewing pool that humans carved out, and it was also a water dungeon that imprisoned our ancestors. The king and I went ashore, and then we found a black gem in the castle."

"Ever since bringing back that gem, the king seems to have suddenly changed. You may not have noticed, but for the past six months, the king has been in a very bad mood and has developed a craving for large amounts of flesh and blood..."

Qi Qi: "But Mother looks clearly—"

"It looks good, doesn't it? That's because I didn't want you to worry, Qi. Only after consuming flesh and blood will the Queen's emotions stabilize. If she isn't replenished in time, her eyes will turn red, she'll become irritable and irrational, and she won't recognize anyone..."

A month ago, while hunting in the border sea, she ate two adventurers who had come from the open sea.

"The king likes it very much."

His expression was grave: "This might be some kind of ancient curse. Humans put a spell on that gem with chaotic power, turning the queen into a demon. She especially likes humans and plans to devour everyone on this fleet. But what will happen after that?"

“We can’t let the king continue like this. If you saw the king go berserk, you would be terrified too.”

Qi Qi was initially confused, but he quickly came to his senses.

this……

Isn't the plot just a story about the villainous Mermaid King persecuting the human protagonist?