Ha ha, he’s flustered, truly flustered! 【End of the Thousand Islands Sea Arc!】
The Platform Sutra says: At that time, a wind was blowing, making the banners flutter. One monk said the wind was moving, another said the banners were moving, and the debate would not end. Huineng stepped forward and said, “It is not the wind that moves, nor the banners that move, but the benevolent heart that moves.”
In the center of the kayak, Lu Chen stood with his hands behind his back and slowly opened his eyes.
He was in no hurry to reel in the line; instead, he pressed his palms together in a gesture of contemplation, his gaze tranquil.
Staring at the calm sea reflecting the myriad stars and the ripples spreading from the trembling float, he seemed to come to a realization.
“It is not the float that moves, nor the fish that moves, but the angler’s heart that stirs.”
With genuine intent, the mind makes the impossible possible. Form is not different from emptiness; emptiness is not different from form. Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. The "emptiness" of the Air Force—boundless and all-encompassing, embracing every shade of heaven and earth.
Lu Chen understood something anew.
He lifted his hand, paused a moment, and pressed the nuclear-powered button.
The thousand-meter fishing line began to retract slowly, confirming that the prey had taken the bait.
Immediately, the mini nuclear reactor ignited, and the rod unleashed a terrifying torque capable of hauling a blue whale from the sea.
The reeling accelerated from gentle to fierce, until in a flash, the prey was yanked from the water and crashed onto the kayak!
Lu Chen spread his arms wide, excitedly catching the massive fish.
The kayak dipped low, swaying for a long while before stabilizing.
He looked down.
To his astonishment, what he’d landed was a mermaid in his arms.
And quite a hefty one at that.
Her upper body was human, her lower half a green carp.
Female, by all appearances.
Her upper body was pale and a touch plump, her chest barely covered by two enormous shells that failed to conceal everything…
Her scales were smooth, but after exposure to the air, they quickly became sticky and a bit clammy to the touch.
Looking closely, the mermaid was actually quite pretty, though clearly middle-aged and her figure had lost its youthful lines.
Both hands were bleeding where the fishhook had caught them.
For an instant, Lu Chen wished he could perform magic and turn her upper half into that of a fish as well.
That would certainly shut Gloria’s mouth!
Alas…
Still, whatever the case, his epiphany had worked—if his heart held no desire, he would never return empty-handed!
The mermaid aunt, hands aching, had been about to scold him. But seeing that this human youth was rather handsome, her gaze suddenly turned flirtatious.
“Young man, where do you get such strength at your age? Who fishes with such force?”
“Nonsense! My technique and strength are by the book. Blame yourself for not being a real fish!”
Though helpless, Lu Chen still set her down and dressed her wounds.
These medical supplies had originally been prepared for the first fish he’d hoped to catch, in case he needed to heal a hooked mouth.
Instead, he’d caught no fish, but injured a mermaid instead. If Imperial Entertainment Weekly got a photo of this, wouldn’t they claim this idealist abused merfolk?
“What are you? You’re clearly an intelligent being—why did you grab my hook with your hands?”
The mermaid aunt sat up coquettishly, her expression and posture still alluring, betraying a dancer’s grace, though her figure had lost its prime; her voice was rough.
“I’m Mermaid Number Eighteen, a specialty technician of the Thousand Isles Sea. I wanted to climb up your line, add a little fun to your fishing, and maybe offer you some special services!”
Lu Chen considered: it had been decades since the king banned mermaid dance performances. The once-prized mermaid dancers would now be about this age, so a loss of figure was only natural.
Having mastered the resonance of all things, his heart full of compassion, he even began to consider supporting the weaker among them.
“So, what special services do you offer?”
With practiced ease, the mermaid aunt held up three fingers.
“There are three types.”
“Chatting—one spirit stone an hour.”
“Foot massage plus chatting—ten stones an hour.”
“Full-body deep massage plus chatting—thirty stones an hour.”
Lu Chen felt something was off.
“All vegetarian packages, and still this expensive?”
She pouted. “Remember, we’re mermaids, not humanoids. If you want something carnal, we can’t provide it.”
That’s just a lack of imagination!
Lu Chen was in no rush. He opened his wristband’s holographic screen and searched for posts about mermaid services in the Thousand Isles Sea.
All glowing reviews.
That was suspicious.
So he dug deeper, finding snapshots of many deleted complaints.
Sure enough—there were negative reviews! Complaints that the mermaids were old, out of shape, with poor service, weak hands, and awkward conversation.
Worse, you could only be touched by them, never touch them. If you so much as grazed any part of their body, a massive octopus monster would appear, declare the mermaid his wife, and threaten to beat you unless you paid a hundred spirit stones.
They especially liked to approach young men or drunks fishing alone—easy targets for extortion.
Of course, if you behaved, they’d just take the basic fee and leave.
Not exactly scams or honeytraps, but pretty much all pitfalls.
Lu Chen thought, not good—he’d just carried the mermaid aunt in his arms. Wouldn’t the octopus monster be on his way?
Still, perhaps they just wanted some money. He hadn’t received any danger alerts.
Since this was the first sentient creature he’d ever caught, Lu Chen was reluctant to leave right away.
He closed the holographic screen, sighing:
“Your online reputation isn’t too great.”
The mermaid aunt, literate and internet-savvy herself, didn’t understand how Lu Chen, with a few taps, could see things she never could.
“What sites do you browse? Our service is excellent! If you think I’m too old, I’ll get you a younger, cuter girl… But you should know, young ones aren’t nearly as skilled at oral art as I am!”
Lu Chen was stunned.
“Oral… what?”
“Oral art,” she blurted, then slapped her thigh as she remembered something, sending her whole body jiggling.
“Oh… I mean eloquence!”
Lu Chen realized the game—a hint of innuendo to lure you into trouble. Fortunately, she was an aunt; had it been a young, charming mermaid girl, who could resist?
He suddenly asked, “How did the king treat you in the past?”
The mermaid aunt was about to answer, but then instinctively asked, “Is the chat time starting?”
Lu Chen smiled, handed her a spirit stone.
She slipped it into her chest-covering shell and, now beaming, began to talk.
“The king was all right, not great, not terrible. He paid the dancers on time, a bit lecherous but lacked the courage to act. Otherwise, there would have been mermaid concubines long ago.
Even when that so-called protection association sued us and forced a nationwide ban on dancers, the king still held out, keeping mermaid dancers in the palace for state banquets.
Once, the queen caught him flirting with a dancer, and that was the end of the last mermaid troupe—the whole lot of us out of work.
Now, we can only offer special services.”
Lu Chen was curious. “The Thousand Isles Sea is vast—aren’t there enough resources in the depths for you to live on?”
She shook her head.
“The valuable, high-spirit fish were all caught by tourists long ago. The king now only stocks cheap breeds, claiming it keeps people from diving for fish and is safer for us.”
Lu Chen nodded slightly, relieved.
So everyone else dives for fish…
How base.
The mermaid aunt kept talking:
“Besides, we’re intelligent beings—you can’t just live on fish. We need nutrition, entertainment. Whoever created us, whatever god it was, why not make us fully humanoid?”
Lu Chen suddenly felt that his childhood fondness for mermaids was somehow wicked.
“There’s nothing to be done—it’s all a product of human aesthetics.”
He sighed, then changed the subject.
“Of course, as an individual human, I won’t compensate you, but I can support your business a little.”
The mermaid aunt looked at him in surprise.
“With those eyebrows and eyes, I didn’t expect you’d…”
Lu Chen nodded. “I want a more special service.”
She blinked. “How special?”
Lu Chen looked around, opened his wristband, and quietly typed:
“I’ll give you ten spirit stones if you help me find a fish—preferably a big, impressive one for me to catch. I promise I won’t eat it—just keep it a day, then release it.”
She glanced around as well—no one in sight for miles—and replied in a whisper:
“That’s all? Your bait smells great—I could smell it from afar, and big fish love it. Plus, your rod is powerful—once a fish bites, it’s hard to escape. I got caught just by grabbing on with my hands. If you wait a bit, surely you’ll catch one. Why pay ten stones? Why not let me give you a foot massage and a deep tissue treatment for that?”
Lu Chen was speechless.
“You’re too eloquent! I just want a big fish—will you do it or not?”
She quickly nodded, accepting the ten stones.
“I’ll do it! Just wait here.”
“I’ll wait an hour at most.”
“Remember to reel in after an hour. I guarantee you’ll catch a fish you’ll never forget.”
“Hush—keep it down! Go!”
With a graceful leap, the mermaid aunt plunged into the sea, sending waves rolling.
The kayak rocked for ages before settling.
Lu Chen’s heart was as turbulent as the waves, unable to calm.
His first real catch in life—his palms were sweating with nerves.
He paced, wrung his hands, fussed with his clothes and hair, rehearsed his victory pose and lines—down to every detail.
He set up his wristband’s high-res camera to record it all for posterity.
Stars above, myriad creatures below.
Standing at the bow, hands behind his back, beneath the starry sky, he cast his line far out over the sea.
Plop!
A crisp splash as the bait hit the water, sending ripples spreading across the starlit surface into infinity.
An hour passed.
The float truly began to move…
“It’s here!”
Thrilled, Lu Chen pressed the nuclear button.
The thousand-meter line began to retract, confirming the catch.
The mini nuclear reactor flared; the rod exploded with a force fit to haul a blue whale skyward.
The line reeled in, first slow, then fast—until, with a thundering crash, the prey burst from the waves and landed on the kayak!
Lu Chen caught it in both hands.
A massive shadow blotted out the sky.
Suddenly, everything went dark.
A suction cup the size of a bowl clamped onto his face.
Sticky tentacles wrapped around him like a corkscrew.
A giant octopus had seized him.
Its body was covered in shifting blue-black spots and stripes; eight limbs bound Lu Chen tightly.
Only then did the suction cup release his face, letting him gasp for breath.
Lu Chen cursed his AI—no warning at all?
A large octopus head dangled upside down before him, staring into his eyes.
And astonishingly, it was a human face!
“Tell me—what did you do to my wife, boy?”
[Half-recessive Octoman, Level 50 Beastmaster. His face bears the imprint of a ship’s ram from the Fishbone. Dantian injured, body extremely weak, forced to maintain human-faced, octopus-bodied form, hiding in the deep and unable to survive long at the surface.]
Lu Chen thought: the internet was right—a powerful octopus monster, though only outwardly so. Otherwise, a level fifty expert wouldn’t be doing this.
Still, even a weakened octopus was far beyond him—a mere level twenty-nine mechanist—barehanded.
He secretly summoned the Leonin for backup, while keeping polite and trying to placate the creature.
“That mermaid aunt just now is your wife, Senior? I accidentally caught her, but I already dressed her wounds.”
“Mermaid aunt? That’s my sweetheart!”
The octopus head roared, spraying mucus onto Lu Chen’s face.
“You caught her? Still trying to lie? Then whose fingerprints are those on her shoulder and, ahem, elsewhere?”
So it was the bridal carry that damned him!
“I thought she was a fish—caught her with both hands…”
Lu Chen answered honestly.
The octopus remained furious.
“Lies! Who treats a fish so well? Clearly, you coveted her beauty!”
His tone darkened as he muttered, “That old woman can never resist the young ones. She actually tried to hide it from me, thinking to spare you a hundred spirit stones. But you didn’t catch her body—you caught her heart!”
Lu Chen feigned ignorance. “What’s this about a hundred spirit stones?”
The octopus did his best to stay calm.
“That’s the price for seducing my wife’s body. But you seduced her heart—five hundred spirit stones minimum! Not a coin less! Or else, you’ll spend your life as a slave under the sea, scraping barnacles off sperm whales for me until you’re sick of it!”
Lu Chen had to admit, this was an expert shakedown.
Still, he’d received no danger warnings—clearly, the guy was just after money…
Luckily, the Leonin had arrived.
A laser cannon fired!
It burned off one of the octopus’s tentacles.
The octopus recoiled, glancing up.
Gloria, clad in her white kendo uniform, leapt from the Leonin.
She struck down from the sky with her sword!
The sword-qi howled—Lu Chen was terrified. Given her precision, this was clearly personal…
Fortunately, the octopus wielded eight swords with eight limbs.
Swish, swish, swish! In a flurry of moves, he shredded Gloria’s sword-qi, shielding Lu Chen.
Meanwhile, Aili, piloting the Onin, continued blasting the octopus with lasers.
The octopus, feeling weak, didn’t want a prolonged fight.
“You little brats think I don’t have a ship?”
He called for backup from below.
A giant octopus-shaped spaceship slowly surfaced.
But it was caked in mud.
Its lift-off systems barely worked, and the eight mechanical arms were useless.
The laser turrets, long out of repair, wouldn’t fire.
All he could do was launch a dozen missiles at the Leonin!
But with magnetic interference, they exploded mid-flight.
The sky filled with fireworks.
In the glow, Lu Chen blinked—he’d seen this octopus ship before.
Suddenly, he remembered the piloting test at Sea Hero Port…
Wasn’t the ship he’d hijacked an octopus ship?
He hastily waved for a ceasefire and asked the octopus, “Senior, are you connected to the Evil Spirit Bounty Hunters?”
The octopus was startled, his anger forgotten, and called a truce.
“My crew told you to find me? I’ve said it a hundred times—I’m retired. I have no interest in the Black Dragon. Go. I won’t charge you.”
“Oh, then I’ll be on my way.”
Lu Chen caught on. He didn’t want to press further.
He was just about to leave!
Suddenly, a young man jumped from the octopus ship.
“You can’t go—Dad, I just found out! They’re the Primal Star Vault Adventuring Team, recent winners of the Idealist’s Medal—they’re heroes!”
Lu Chen looked him over.
The young man was tall and handsome, dressed in sharkskin, with eight dreadlocks atop his head.
A closer look—they weren’t dreadlocks but eight tentacles styled as such.
Octopus tentacles growing from his scalp—quite unique…
Object recognition gave him the details:
[Descendant of octopus and squid humanoids, around thirty, Level 41 Sword Spirit Warrior, outstanding talent in both cultivation and swordsmanship.]
Lu Chen was amazed.
A hybrid of octopus and squid, and the tentacles grew from his head?
The octopus grunted.
“So what? I care for all these fishfolk—am I not an idealist too? Just because the Crownless Kingdom didn’t give me a medal, doesn’t mean I care!”
The young man sized up Lu Chen, Gloria, and the Leonin circling above.
“Dad, aren’t they too weak? How did they win the Idealist’s Medal?”
Lu Chen paused—did idealists have to be strong?
On second thought, it made sense. Without his top-tier hacking skills, they’d never have won.
Above, Gloria stood amid swirling sword-qi, arms crossed beneath her chest, looking down imperiously.
“Of course, with me as their genius warrior.”
“You? A Sword Spirit Warrior too?” The young man glanced up at her, clearly dismissive of women, especially those he deemed decorative.
Gloria snapped back, “You don’t even have enough swords for your eight limbs. Surely you’re not a Sword Spirit Warrior?”
He scoffed, “The news said it was Lu Chen who won the medal, not you. Throughout history, women’s swordplay is all for show.”
Bringing up Lu Chen only ignited Gloria’s competitive spirit.
She struck!
The young man didn’t back down, leaping up, sword raining blows.
His swordsmanship was sharp and merciless, showing no quarter.
He was stronger than Gloria, his technique perhaps even finer.
Within a dozen exchanges, Gloria began to falter.
This was the first time Lu Chen had seen Gloria outmatched in swordplay…
But then she suddenly shifted, moving with feline agility.
Swish—
With a single stroke, she sliced off one of the eight tentacles atop his head!
Lu Chen understood—the infusion of his blood had let her control her inner magic, allowing her to briefly transform and recover at will.
He began to believe Gloria really might be a once-great warrior who’d lost her memory and power over time.
If so, what a find!
Gloria sheathed her sword, her gaze cold, hand on her flask, not even glancing at the young man.
“If I’d cut at your neck, you’d be dead.”
The young man was dumbfounded.
Blood dripped from his severed tentacle, soaking his face.
He didn’t understand—he’d clearly had the upper hand, so how had he lost so inexplicably?
Losing a tentacle was nothing—they’d regrow.
But lose your sword heart, and it was hard to recover.
The octopus had noticed Gloria’s extraordinary sword-qi earlier and, since they mentioned his old adventurer group, was ready to let them off.
But then his hot-blooded son jumped in…
He hurriedly patted his stunned son with a tentacle.
“Enough, enough, we don’t fuss over hidden masters.”
To preserve his son’s sword heart and pride, he labeled Gloria as a concealed master, a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
The young man realized he’d lost unfairly.
“So you’re a witch—using magic for a sneak attack? Try winning with swordsmanship!”
What?
Where would a woman get the balls for that?
Gloria took a swig and sneered, “I’ve forgotten all my swordplay—I only hack and slash. The universe is vast, country bumpkin.”
The young man realized she truly had only used basic attacks. Even without that final surprise, she’d lasted over a dozen exchanges against him with lower cultivation.
That meant her basic swordsmanship was above his!
The octopus saw this clearly—she wasn’t just a witch; her sword skills were exceptional.
Seeing his son’s wavering resolve, he quickly changed tactics.
“I’m Lusu, founding captain of the Evil Spirit Bounty Hunters. This is my son, Luke. Why not join us for a chat under the sea?”
Lu Chen, with nothing better to do, thought it a fine way to pass the next twenty-four hours.
He summoned his Treasure-Hunting Armor from the Leonin, leapt into the cockpit, and reached full power.
“Aili, have the ship hover on the water. Gloria and I are going to visit the merfolk.”
“Yes, Captain!”
…
And so, Lu Chen and Gloria accepted the octopus’s invitation and descended to the seabed.
The immense pressure tested the armor’s strength and seals.
Fortunately, they reached the bottom just before the limit.
In the dark depths, there was a canyon—hidden, shrouded in mist, with rapid currents.
Lusu and his son led Lu Chen and Gloria into a cave on the canyon’s side.
Outside, the cave seemed narrow and hidden.
Inside, it was vast.
Thousands of acres illuminated—an entire underground town, home to tens of thousands of fishfolk.
The “lights” were glowing shells fixed to the cave walls, nourished with regular feed.
Lu Chen observed that, aside from the stable human-fish mermaids, there were all sorts of bizarre merfolk combinations—proof their genes were unstable.
There were both male and female fishfolk.
The men fished.
The attractive women worked in services.
Those less attractive grew seaweed, raised shellfish, made shell crafts and trinkets.
Octopus and squid folk were rare…
Clearly, Lusu and his son were newcomers in recent decades, with few descendants yet.
Now, Lusu was local overlord.
He led Lu Chen and Gloria to the city hall—a giant golden shell atop the highest point.
Inside, there was even a water-repelling formation; the décor was ornate as a dragon palace.
But Lu Chen noticed the materials were common shells; nothing valuable inside.
Business was tough everywhere these days.
Inside, several mermaid aunts and girls did chores—perhaps maids, perhaps Lusu's wives and daughters.
Among them was the very mermaid aunt Lu Chen had caught.
She even threw him a secret wink.
Lusu immediately ordered the mermaids to serve tea and prepare a feast.
Lu Chen paused before the inner shell wall.
A painting hung there.
It was a horned mermaid girl…
Lu Chen frowned—it was abstract, but he felt he’d seen her before.
Suddenly—
He remembered.
She was the fish-tailed woman who’d chased him in the fog sea—captain of the Guernica’s seventeenth ship. Her name escaped him.
Or perhaps it was just a relative.
He probed, “Does Senior Lusu know anyone from the Guernica Beastmasters?”
Lusu’s face turned proud.
“You mean Little Jie? She’s my adopted daughter. I rescued her from a slave ship—she’d escaped an imperial lab only to be captured again. I’d just saved her and then got shipwrecked here in Thousand Isles, where the mermaids saved me. Fate, perhaps. She lived here until a year and a half ago, reached level fifty, and was recruited by a scorpion woman into the Guernica Beastmasters.”
So it was her!
What a small universe.
Lu Chen left it at that, grateful Lusu didn’t follow the news, or old grudges would resurface.
Soon, a seafood feast was served.
Just plain clam meat, deep-sea shrimp and crab, blood kelp, whale shark marrow, and the like.
Lu Chen, Gloria, Lusu and his son, the mermaid aunt and her daughter—six at the table.
He figured the mermaid aunt really was Lusu’s wife.
But he probably had more than one—an octopus should have a squid wife too.
At the two-meter wide table, Lusu alone was bigger than the other five combined—a bizarre sight.
“See? Friendship forged in battle—let’s drink!”
After some pleasantries, Lu Chen asked, “Senior Lusu, as an adventurer, why settle here?”
Lusu’s bulbous eyes grew mournful as he recalled the past.
“I once took a bounty here, searching for injured mermaids to photograph for an animal rights group.
But I found none, so I photographed fishfolk who were naturally malformed, claiming it was long-term abuse causing genetic mutations.”
It was a familiar tale...
Lu Chen sipped his ink-wine and sighed.
“Nothing new under the sun.”
After a cup, Lusu continued:
“In reality, the Thousand Isles mermaids were imported stock. Their genes were never stable—any trait is normal. Mermaids were selectively bred for specific forms.”
Lu Chen nodded, probing: “So your conscience struck, and you stayed to protect the mermaids?”
Lusu nodded. “Yes, the late King Navarro found me, rammed me with his ship, and wrecked us both. I was left in this form, forced to live at the bottom ever since, unable to adventure.”
So a guilty conscience born of a shipwreck…
The legend of the weak-ship King was true after all!
Lu Chen glanced around, then asked, “I don’t see any squid women here. Where did you get a hybrid son?”
Lusu’s eyes reddened as he recalled, “After I was hurt, a passing mermaid saved me and brought me to the fishfolk village. Back then, the chief was a beautiful old squid lady—skilled in medicine. She cared for me, even sharing spiritual ink to heal me… That’s Luke’s mother.
Ten years ago, Ah Zhen passed away. The black-banded grass outside was planted by her and now forms a canopy.”
He drained his cup, eyes brimming with tears.
A beautiful squid lady... Lu Chen thought he understood.
“So the Sword Saint legend here is true. And you, an octopus, cuckolded the Sword Saint?”
Lusu was taken aback, then shook his head.
“If she didn’t lie, the Sword Saint was my father-in-law. You can see the talent in Luke’s swordsmanship—I was just a beastmaster, only learned the sword to help him practice.”
Gloria glanced at the glum young man. Out of gratitude for the hospitality, she offered a compliment.
“Without formal training, to reach such cultivation and skill—he’s quite the little genius.”
Luke frowned, feeling insulted.
But a loss was a loss.
He said nothing.
Lusu sighed, “His power is nearly my equal. This little sea is too small for him; his destiny lies among the stars… If you would, please take him to the Evil Spirit Bounty Hunters.”
Before Lu Chen could reply, Lusu pressed a squid-shaped jade pendant into his son’s hand.
“This was left by your mother, from your grandmother. It’ll save your life if needed… Remember, your purpose out there is to become strong—nothing else. Don’t chase after dragons or other nonsense.”
Luke’s eyes reddened further; his resolve to grow strong never fiercer.
Lu Chen asked, “Can’t you use your ship? Or can’t you contact the Bounty Hunters?”
Lusu replied, “The ship’s controls are broken; only manual flight works. The radar can receive but not send. I have issues with the royal family and won’t go to the city. So, I hoped you might help.”
You killed the king’s father, and that’s just an “issue”?
Lu Chen thought, this king is truly wise.
He could forgive his father’s killer, for the good of the fishfolk.
Faced with the request, Lu Chen refused.
Contacting the Bounty Hunters would delay his journey, and he feared they’d try to recruit him for a dragon hunt.
“However, I’m a mechanist. I can repair your ship. My own ship has tools and parts—I’ll waive material costs, charge only for labor. How’s that?”
Lusu was stunned—his would-be extortion target was extorting him instead…
But he had no choice.
“Very well, Captain Lu.”
So Lu Chen hauled the giant octopus ship onto the sandbar.
The fifty-level vessel was so large, the Leonin had to hover so it wouldn’t crowd the island.
Lu Chen checked inside.
“No big deal—I can fix it in a day.”
Such a huge ship, fixed in a day—Lusu and his son thought he was joking.
But actually, the engine just needed a new part, and the control system only had a short circuit.
Total amateurs.
What Lu Chen could have done in an hour, he dragged out for a day.
The mermaid mother and daughter helped him out.
All the seafood he could eat.
He earned eight hundred spirit stones, and Lusu and his son thought it was too cheap!
With the twenty-four hours gone, even if Gloria denied he’d caught a mermaid and an octopus, time was up—the bet was void.
After finishing the repairs, Lu Chen collected his fee.
“Now, you can contact the Bounty Hunters yourselves.”
Lusu seemed to sense something and asked, “Captain Lu, do you have a history with them?”
Lu Chen nodded.
Not that it was Lusu’s concern.
“A bit, but not much. I just don’t want them asking me to join their expeditions. The universe is dangerous—I don’t want adventure.”
With that, he returned to the Leonin.
…
In the Leonin’s cockpit, Lu Chen swept his hand.
“Let’s prepare to depart!”
On the gaming recliner, Gloria took off her glasses.
“But Aili said we had two days. And you haven’t caught a fish yet—you owe me a beach volleyball match!”
“Just half a day left—let the king make a little more money,” Lu Chen replied generously.
“As for volleyball, you two didn’t settle your match—why should you team up against me?”
Gloria considered this.
“Then two against one—we’ll smash you!”
Lu Chen was almost tempted…
But remembering how Aili had played herself to exhaustion, and Gloria nearly lost control of her magic, he thought better.
“Forget it. As agreed, I didn’t just avoid going empty-handed—I caught two big fish!”
Do fishfolk count as fish?
Gloria was about to argue.
Lu Chen handed her two hundred and fifty spirit stones.
“You fought bravely, subdued Luke, and showed true swordsmanship. Here’s two hundred and fifty spirit stones—pocket money for greater glory ahead!”
Gloria froze, instinctively bowed for the money, forgetting what she’d meant to say.
The Leonin rose slowly, leaving the Thousand Isles Sea.
Suddenly, Gloria recalled something funny.
“So why were your fingerprints on the mermaid aunt’s, ahem, behind?”
Lu Chen remembered then—he’d set up his wristband’s camera and live-streamed to the Leonin, intending to share his “biggest moment” with Gloria and Aili.
In the end, he’d caught an octopus…
“And what do you mean—don’t you have my fingerprints on your behind? Are we having an affair too?”
Gloria blinked, then burst out laughing, turning to Aili.
“Haha, Aili, look—he’s flustered!”
Aili grew serious.
“The book says, if humans long for something and never attain it, they idealize it, forming special feelings. To the captain, even an old mermaid or an octopus must look charming.”
Damn, are you two ganging up on me?
Lu Chen rolled up his sleeves.
“Get the volleyball and net—I’ll crush you both in the cabin right now!”
Whew, nine thousand words in one go—too lazy to split into chapters!
(End of chapter)