Qi Qi used the system's lighting to exit the secret passage and swam towards the sea.

Seeing that he had been silent for half an hour, the system assumed he was frightened and reassured him: "Don't be afraid, you're out now."

Qi Qi said, "I'm not afraid. I just guessed whose points it was."

Oh? You guessed it?

Qi Qi: [Sterling and Hilllow, right?]

System: [Not bad, you've completely bewitched them.]

Qi Qi replied, "I didn't do anything at all, I didn't even sing a song. They seem so shallow; they like me just because they see my face."

The system really didn't expect that the host could see through the phenomena and directly grasp the essence of the problem.

[You even know what "superficial" means... don't you suspect they might genuinely like you?]

Qi Qi: [You like me? Of course you do! Don't you like me, Tongtong?]

System: [What does this question have to do with whether I like you or not?]

Qi Qi explained to it logically: "Being good-looking is part of me, so it's perfectly normal for everyone to like me. I can pretend to be a good person or a bad person, but I can't fake my face. This must be genuine liking... Tell me, do you like me or not?"

system:【……】

Qi Qi urged, "Hurry up! You've never said you liked me before, hurry up!"

system:【……】

"Fine," Qi Qi pouted, "Hmph."

System: [...I like it.]

As soon as he finished speaking, the blue data disappeared.

Qi Qi smiled smugly.

I've known Tongtong for so long, so my liking for Tongtong is definitely not superficial.

Once Qi Qi reached the seabed, he opened his mouth and began calling out "Mom" in the same way he remembered calling for the Mermaid King's mother. The sound waves traveled rapidly underwater, reaching miles away and soon reaching the Mermaid King's ears.

The Mermaid King was overjoyed and immediately turned back towards the direction from which the sound came.

Meanwhile, Lan, who had been following the merman in the sea to find Qi Qi, was in a bad situation.

His face was filled with shock, and he didn't quite understand how Qi Qi had managed to run back from the shore. There was no water or people around him, so the poison couldn't have been neutralized so quickly, especially with the merfolk sent nearby to sing lullabies...

So, how did he manage to get back?

Seeing that her secret was about to be exposed, a dark glint flashed in Lan's eyes, and she took the initiative to avoid the Merman King's gaze and returned to the underwater palace.

...

Qi Qi saw the golden shadow swimming rapidly toward him from afar; it was the Mermaid King's mother.

Even after a few days apart, she still looked stunningly beautiful, and the tenderness in her eyes when she looked at him was something Qi Qi couldn't resist.

Qi Qi wondered if it was just his imagination, but it seemed as if the dark substance was about to materialize and burst out of her body, creating a stark contrast between darkness and warmth.

The power of chaos has intensified.

The system quietly returned sometime ago.

Qi Qi went to greet her first: "Mother!"

The Mermaid King hugged him tightly: "My child, where have you been? Do you know how worried your mother was!"

There was no blame. Her mother's embrace was warm. Qi Qi felt a little embarrassed, but she also liked it very much. It was a kind of warmth that was different from other kinds of embraces.

But he had something more important to say first: "Mother, it was Lan! He's the one who locked me up on the island. He wants to betray you and take your place."

The Mermaid King released him, a look of confusion flashing across her beautiful face: "Lan?"

Qi Qiyi righteously complained to the adult: "It was him! I originally planned to go to the island with him to do something... but I didn't expect him to lock me up and feed me poisonous seaweed juice. My voice became hoarse and I didn't have the strength to come back, which is why I couldn't contact you!"

The Merman King looked doubtful: "Lan has always been loyal and responsible in his work. He has never shown any sign of wanting to betray me... What else has he done to you?"

Qi Qi thought for a moment and said, "Lock me up, lie to me, scare me, kiss me..."

"He kissed you?" the Mermaid King interrupted with a serious expression.

Qi Qi glanced at his expression: "...Huh?"

The Merman King's expression changed instantly: "Damn it! How dare he do this! I'm going to settle the score with him right now!"

Qi Qi: "..." Mother, isn't your anger a bit too late? And it was just a kiss, betrayal is the real issue!

The Mermaid King looked at his bewildered youngest son with a heart full of anguish and nearly flew into a rage. Xiao Qi was so young, unable to speak or move, locked up on land, unable to even get a dip in the water. If Lan wanted to do something to him...

The enraged Merman King immediately went to settle scores with Lan, and Qi Qi followed closely behind, determined to expose Lan's sinister true colors.

The two sharks turned around, already sensing something unusual from the ripples in the water behind them.

Ahead, there was a dark mass underwater. Qi Qi squinted to see what it was and discovered that the group of creatures were actually the merfolk of his tribe.

They had all gathered together, and the merman leading the group at the front was none other than Lan.

The Mermaid King pulled Qi Qi behind him, and his aura as a Mermaid King immediately erupted.

Qi Qi keenly observed that the moment the Mermaid Queen's aura erupted, some of the more than one hundred merfolk behind Lan flinched, their eyes darting around, not daring to look directly at them.

Looking at it this way, they are still afraid, but why do they still follow Lan to fight against the Mermaid King?

"Lan?"

"Moon? Stone? Shanshan?..."

What do you mean by this?

As each name was read out, the merfolk behind Lan became even more flustered, but even so, they did not leave.

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