Chapter 02 Chapter 2
In the alley next to the Mermaid Center, there are several stalls selling mermaids.
Many people want to buy good goods from the Mermaid Center at a low price, so they come here to try their luck.
In one of the stalls, No. 55 and another mermaid were squeezed in a cramped fish tank, and it was difficult for them to turn over.
Someone stopped in front of the fish tank, and the fish seller immediately made a passionate sales pitch:
"Customer, you have caught a good opportunity today! The blue one was put here by the Mermaid Center to sell, and you will lose money if you don't buy it!"
The customer leaned over to take a closer look: "Is it true? It's so thin, and there is a scar on its tail. It must have not been cultivated, right?"
No. 55 pouted, poked his head out of the water, and glanced at him.
"?"
The customer rubbed his eyes a few times, and when he opened his eyes again, No. 55 became the same as a normal mermaid, with eyes that had nothing to do with "wisdom".
The customer pointed at No. 55 and said, "It seems to understand what I say..."
The fish seller laughed, "How is that possible! Even if the mermaid's IQ is doubled, it still can't understand our language."
"But it just glared at me!"
"I guess it's an illusion." The fish seller shrugged, not taking it seriously. "Let's take a step back. Even if it understands someone saying bad things about it, the mermaid's claws that lack offensiveness can only scratch our skin at most!"
No. 55 was angry and scratched the glass in front of him.
Its nails were round and smooth, and it didn't leave any marks on the wall of the fish tank.
'Child, don't expose your ability and pretend to be an ordinary mermaid to survive...'
"If only I could extend my claws." A string of sad bubbles burst out of the fish tank, "Scratch this small fish tank and go back to the sea to find fish to eat..."
No. 55 was so hungry that he had no strength left. He drooped his fins and listened to the fish sellers and customers pointing at him as if he were a commodity.
"I'll try its ability to guide." The customer said and reached into the fish tank.
No. 55 was in a bad mood. The fins at his elbow exploded and he growled fiercely.
The customer was frightened and used his spiritual sea to suppress it, quickly touching the blue fish tail.
The spiritual sea that humans possess is like a tree. Every time it emits energy, it will drain its vitality. Over time, the tree will gradually dry up, and the death of the tree also means the death of humans.
Mermaids have the ability to guide.
By touching, the mermaid can sense the channel of the spiritual sea and water the trees inside to keep them alive.
The strength of the drainage ability is equivalent to the thickness of the water pipe for watering the trees. The mermaid with a large water flow is called a high-level mermaid.
The customer withdrew his hand, and his eyes twitched:
"This mermaid's drainage ability is too weak, isn't it? Calling it a low-level mermaid is a face-saving thing."
Low-level mermaids at least have a trickle of water, but he just felt only a few drops...
The customer touched another mermaid in the fish tank, and the water flow that irrigated the spiritual sea was ordinary but normal:
"I bought the other one, and I almost got fooled by you!"
The fish seller smiled and explained: "I didn't lie to you, the blue one really comes from the center of the mermaid..."
It was a season of uncertain weather, and the double blue moon disappeared in the clouds, and a light rain began to fall.
The human optical computer has a built-in rain shield function, and the transparent protective film forms an umbrella on the top of the head.
The fish seller leaned forward to let the optical computer umbrella be blocked by the two mermaids.
Another mermaid dived under the umbrella, and No. 55 gave it the position, and he himself emerged from the water to get wet in the rain.
He straightened his body and rested his chin on the wall of the fish tank in a trance:
the last time I saw rain was in the sea...
When he was a child, he was forced to leave the tribe and become an "ordinary mermaid" in the owner's laboratory, where he was trained to learn human language.
In order to hide his intelligence that exceeds that of ordinary mermaids, he dared not complete the task too well, and he would wait until other mermaids responded before following suit.
Until now, the owner has finally been completely disappointed with No. 55, the "poor student" mermaid.
Abandoned by the tribe, abandoned by the owner, and rejected and unable to be sold...
A drop of rain fell on its eyelashes. No. 55 blinked a few times, and the raindrops stuck to the tip of the ice-blue eyelashes, reflecting the light coming in from outside the alley.
No. 55 stared at the light eagerly: Raindrops, you are so gentle, can you give me a home?
...
A person appeared at the end of the alley, approaching from far away, and his tall figure cut through the rain curtain and light and shadow.
The water droplets hanging on the tip of No. 55's eyelashes dripped and turned into a drop of ink, dyeing the night even darker.
It was him!
The world-weariness hidden in the breath of the visitor made No. 55 recognize him instantly:
he was the man staring at him outside the aquarium.
"Uh... there are people buying mermaids again. The boss has good business today."
Due to the backlight, the customer could not see the face of the visitor clearly.
He sensed the other person's spiritual sea and said tactfully: "The low-level blue mermaid in the fish tank might be suitable for you."
The first impression between people comes from the spiritual sea.
Wen Ming's incomplete spiritual sea is as weak as that of the No. 55 water droplet...
The fish seller squinted his eyes and looked up and down at Wen Ming's clothes, silently labeling him as "poor":
"This customer, today I will give you a half-price discount. The original price of the mermaid is one thousand, and you can take it away for one hundred star coins. How about it?"
Wen Ming's original clothes were soaked by the aquarium, so he changed into the clothes temporarily provided by the Mermaid Center - the
spare work clothes of the employees.
Wen Ming, who was treated as an employee, looked at No. 55. The label on the mermaid's ear had disappeared:
"Why is it here?"
"The mermaid center asked me to sell it." Facing Wen Ming's momentum, the fish seller was a little scared and answered truthfully, "If you like it, you can go through the adoption procedures now."
Wen Ming lowered his eyes and frowned, "Why is it injured?"
No. 55 quickly folded the tip of its tail over the fish tail, trying to cover up the scar.
"It is a mermaid rescued by humans, and it has injuries."
The fish seller said impatiently: "It's useless to ask these questions. Try your ability to persuade it and buy it if it's suitable..."
"Ding!" Wen Ming's computer flashed a call request.
He nodded to the fishmonger to wait, and took a few steps away before answering the call.
"Mother."
A virtual screen appeared in front of him that only Wen Ming could see. An elegant woman with her head folded asked,
"How is it? Did you buy a mermaid?"
Wen Ming paused for a second, and the other party immediately sighed, "I urged you to go to the Mermaid Center, not to let you appreciate the underwater world!"
Dai Rong, Wen Ming's mother, is a medical researcher whose main research project:
rare diseases of the sea of mind.
"The situation of your spiritual sea is not optimistic. If you delay any further, the pain attacks will become more and more frequent. Are you..."
Dai Rong suppressed the pain between his eyebrows: "Are you going to let yourself go to the same end as your father?"
Wen Ming said calmly: "Mother, you know that mermaids can't relieve it."
Wen Ming inherited the same rare spiritual sea disease as his father. When being guided by mermaids, he and the mermaids will only feel pain.
Touching even the most advanced mermaids will cause unbearable pain in the spiritual sea.
"But without the guidance of the mermaids, you can only die slowly."
Dai Rong saw that Wen Ming had no expectations for life, and became more anxious: "Try again, if you don't buy it, I will send one to your doorstep!"
"No need." Wen Ming's eyes flashed, and he pulled down his collar that didn't fit him well, "I will buy it."
"Really?"
Under Dai Rong's suspicious gaze, Wen Ming turned off the computer... While
he was on the phone, the fish seller was processing the procedures for the customer who came earlier, and said with a smile:
"It's really strange, his spiritual sea is so weak, but he pretends to be a big boss, which really scared me."
"He asked for a long time, do you want to buy it or not?" The customer looked in the direction of Wen Ming, "Why do you think he is talking on the computer now?"
The fish seller: "I have seen many such poor customers. He can't afford it, so he has to borrow money from the computer."
"You can't even come up with a hundred star coins? He's wearing the work clothes of the Mermaid Center. It seems that he can't earn a few star coins even if he works for rich people."
"Yeah..." The fish seller agreed and looked down at the fish tank. When he met No. 55's eyes that were listening attentively, he was stunned for a moment.
"This mermaid seems to be able to listen..."
Wen Ming's footsteps approached. The fish seller temporarily ignored No. 55's sense of disobedience and turned his attention back to the customer:
"Have you decided? The lowest price that will be seen in a century, seize the opportunity!"
Wen Ming was not interested in the sales talk that was falling from the ceiling.
He stopped about one meter away from the fish tank, slowly raised his hand, and reached out to No. 55.
The mermaid in the same fish tank with No. 55 seemed to sense something terrible. It rolled and struggled frantically, hitting the wall of the fish tank with a "bang bang"...
Wen Ming's hands were suspended in the air and he didn't move forward.
Even the high-level mermaids resisted his contact and guidance, not to mention the low-level mermaids, who showed resistance when they were just approached.
But as a "mermaid insulator", Wen Ming met a special mermaid today -
when the aquarium broke, his palm buffered the blue mermaid's head from hitting the ground, and he had direct physical contact, but his spiritual sea did not feel any discomfort.
The blue mermaid did not show any pain, but instead shook its tail to convey goodwill to him...
Wen Ming was not sure whether the special situation at that time was due to the short contact time.
So when he inadvertently glanced at the mermaid in the alley, who was dazed by the rain, and his life gradually heading towards death, an unknown fork appeared...
"Hey, what's going on?"
The fishmonger was caught off guard and splashed with water. He activated his spiritual sea to suppress the restless mermaid.
No. 55 was also affected by the spiritual sea and covered his head uncomfortably.
Wen Ming's voice was sharp: "Put away the spiritual sea."
The fishmonger was in the military training ground of his student days in a second, stood at attention, and collected all his energy: "Yes!"
"Woo..."
No. 55 rubbed his forehead to relieve the remaining pain after being suppressed.
Hearing the mermaid's painful groan, Wen Ming hesitated, and the hand that wanted to touch began to shrink back...
"!" No. 55's eyes widened, and he quickly leaned forward and grabbed the hand.
Too much! At least give it a try before you give up!