Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
Watching the fish in front of him, struggling with its tail, Big Bliss, with his upper body exposed, raised an eyebrow casually. “I don’t eat it, thank you.”
The live stream chat immediately erupted with laughter. The mermaid-like figure’s demeanor clearly indicated that it came to reason things out. Could it be that, in Big Bliss’s eyes, fish served only one purpose?
Meng Muyu looked at Shu Xun speechlessly. Shu Xun responded with a nonchalant expression as if saying, “What’s wrong with that?”
Meng Muyu seemed to understand where Big Bliss’s peculiar perception came from.
On the other hand, the mermaid-like figure showed a brief moment of confusion on its face. Before it could comprehend what Big Bliss was saying, Big Bliss gestured towards the tent that had been tossed aside.
Scratching its head, the mermaid-like figure crawled over with a paddling motion of its tail, picked up the tent, neatly arranged it, and even adjusted the direction with its tail. After finishing this, the mermaid-like figure finally seemed to feel justified. It pointed to its tail once again.
Big Bliss sneezed, lifted the curtain, and went back into the tent to continue changing clothes.
The mermaid-like figure stood stiffly in front of the tent, looking quite desolate. After a moment, it suddenly burst into loud sobs. Surprisingly, as its tears fell, they crystallized into transparent beads, radiating a colorful glow, rolling onto the bamboo raft.
While Shu Xun and the others were still in astonishment, Little Bliss was the first to react. Unsteadily, he flew over with a bowl in his possession. The mermaid-like figure, crying inconsolably, suddenly felt something new beside it. Opening its eyes, it saw Little Bliss holding a bowl to catch its tears, which fell into the porcelain bowl with a crisp, tinkling sound.
The crying sound suddenly muted, and the angry little figure seemed to be full of black lines on its head. The small chest heaved violently, giving the impression that in the next second, it would smack away the little butterfly holding the bowl. However, the little fish ultimately proudly raised its head, displaying an air of elegant composure as it continued to stand erect in front of the small tent, waiting for Big Bliss to come out and resume the discussion.
However, the recently addicted Little Bliss, immersed in collecting, was oblivious to the sound emanating from the white porcelain bowl. He circled around the little fish, holding the porcelain bowl, and stopped in front of the fish.
Little fish (￣ー￣) changed direction and continued to stand tall like a pine tree.
Little Bliss, holding the bowl with fluttering wings, chased after, and the little fish continued to turn, while Little Bliss persisted. Thus, when Big Bliss came out after changing clothes, it witnessed a scene completely opposite to what happened underwater. This time, the one leading the way was Big Bliss, and everyone stared intently as Big Bliss finished washing his clothes at the edge of the bamboo raft. He walked back to the middle, erected a small pole, and hung up the clothes. The little fish continued to trail behind with a resentful expression, murmuring incessantly, and the short water-blue hair was almost dried by the gentle breeze.
In the end, Meng Muyu, with a black line on his face, took out an intelligent language analysis device from the space and handed it to the side of the little fish. The little fish completely ignored it, continuing to chatter away while crawling, one arch at a time.
Meng Muyu stood frozen in place, feeling as if his presence was diminishing…
Eventually, Big Bliss walked over, extending his chubby hand to take the button-sized language analysis device. “What’s this?”
“An intelligent language analysis device, essential for exploring lost civilizations. Many gamers also carry it into the game world. It can automatically recognize unknown languages. It detects the wearer’s emotional fluctuations and body language, and organizes and translates unknown languages,” explained Meng Muyu.
“Not bad,” said Big Bliss, feeling a headache from the incessant chatter behind him. He turned around, and placed the button on the little fish’s forehead, causing the voice of the little fish to pause. The fish then strangely raised its small chubby hand and touched its forehead.
Big Bliss sighed in relief, then elegantly extended his right hand. “Hello, I’m Big Bliss, and I’m a vegetarian today.”
The little fish stared at Big Bliss’s hand for a few seconds, then lifted its tail to shake hands, showing a satisfied expression.
Big Bliss turned to Meng Muyu. “Is your device broken?”
Meng Muyu replied, “This is a relic of a lost civilization! It takes some time to collect information to ensure the accuracy of translations.”
Big Bliss: “Oh.” He turned around, looking at the fishtail on his chubby palm, and fell into silence.
Just as Meng Muyu was horrified by Big Bliss’s silence and the little fish’s ignorance, Big Bliss, with a frown, lowered his head, getting close to the fishtail. Finally, he saw the tiny, almost invisible wound. Big Bliss then showed a sudden realization, touching his chin, and said, “Could it be that he wanted me to see this wound all along?”
Meng Muyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was genuinely worried that Big Bliss might just lower his head and take a bite, or worse, pull out that kitchen knife. “I think so, and indeed, it’s inedible.”
Big Bliss turned to Meng Muyu with surprise, expressing full disdain. “You actually still want to eat it! I don’t even want to eat it. You’re really heartless!”
Meng Muyu: ??? What’s wrong?
Shu Xun patted Meng Muyu’s shoulder with his usual gentle tone. “Although fish is delicious, this one clearly belongs to a highly intelligent life form. Eating it would violate interstellar regulations, and we’re live streaming, so you must resist.”
Ye Qian also walked over, searched his pockets, found two small fish jerky that Shu Xun didn’t particularly like in taste, and handed them to Meng Muyu. Then he also gave Meng Muyu a heavy pat on the shoulder.
Meng Muyu (T_T): Things really aren’t like this, and Ye Qian, aren’t you going too far!
In the livestream chat:
“Hahaha…”
“Ye Qian is excessive! Don’t think we don’t know how much fish jerky you’ve stored!”
“I’m extremely grateful that our king is not here now; otherwise, he might be roasted.”
“Poor chieftain, probably never wants to eat fish again in his life.”
“The mermaid is so cute, persistently following Big Bliss for so long, talking non-stop. Looks like a chatterbox.”
On the bamboo raft, Big Bliss, looking at the tail on his chubby palm, touched his small chin. He then started searching through his small backpack. The curious little fish leaned over, and the two round heads almost touched each other. Big Bliss searched earnestly, and the little fish watched attentively.
“Found it.” Big Bliss took out a bandage and skillfully applied it to the little fish’s tail. The little fish shook its tail, finally showing a satisfied expression. However, in the next moment, it turned and arched towards Big Bliss’s small backpack, pointing inside with its hand and talking incessantly.
Big Bliss naturally didn’t understand, but following the direction the little mermaid pointed, he took out the small fishing rod he had used before. As soon as the fishing rod appeared, the sea-blue eyes of the little mermaid lit up, and it unconsciously shook its tail. Big Bliss tentatively moved the small fishing rod, and the little mermaid indeed followed with its little head turning, showing even more joyful tail movements as Big Bliss brought the fishing rod closer.
Big Bliss: “…” Why does a fish look so excited about a fishing rod?
In the end, under the eager gaze of the little mermaid, Big Bliss placed the small fishing rod in its hands. The moment it got hold of the fishing rod, the tail with the bandage still on it seemed uncontrollably slapping on the bamboo raft.
Everyone: “…” Is this really a mermaid? Why does it feel a bit disillusioning? What’s even more disillusioning is that, after a moment, there is another little figure sitting on the edge of the bamboo raft, fishing. The figure is none other than the little mermaid.
Big Bliss looked embarrassed. With such skilled movements, Big Bliss could almost be certain that this little mermaid had been observing underwater for a long time, judging the purpose of the fishing rod, accidentally getting hooked on its own tail during the trial, and then coming up to negotiate, seizing the opportunity to demand the fishing rod as compensation. At this moment, Big Bliss was absolutely convinced that this mermaid was undoubtedly a highly intelligent life form.
In the live stream chat:
“Is it an illusion? Why does it feel like reasoning isn’t the goal; the fishing rod is!”
“Undoubtedly a highly intelligent life form!”
“Big Bliss looks bewildered! Didn’t catch any fish, and lost a fishing rod. That fishing rod is definitely a special item made for seeking little figures. There might be some unique effects.”
“The little mermaid finally got its wish. Look at the fish that leisurely sings while swaying its tail! Also, who said mermaids sing beautifully? Is it out of tune?”
“Agree with the comment above. Although I don’t know what it’s singing, I have to say, this fish’s singing is a bit off-key. Could it be different races, different appreciations? But after evolving into a human form, aesthetic preferences may gradually converge.”
“Recording for memory. If this is a native of this world, I absolutely welcome it to stay. The fish tank is ready, waiting for the little mermaid to come and play!”
“The one above is too optimistic! This one is obviously in a larval state. Judging by the evolutionary pattern of giant creatures in this world, adult mermaids should not be small…”
“Sudden realization!”
In the game world, the bamboo raft has started moving again. Although the little mermaid didn’t catch anything, it remained in high spirits. Accompanied by the seemingly off-key singing, the bamboo raft navigated among the giant trees, continuing its journey toward inland.
