Gu Lin vaguely woke up, blinked his big eyes, and found that his chubby little legs had turned into a fishtail.

He was small and his legs were short. Turning into a little mermaid, his tail was also short, incredibly cute.

His tail was green, a very pure color, not like the newly formed fishtails of the other players, which needed to be soaked in the blue solution in the mermaid base to merge into one.

Gu Lin’s fishtail, as soon as it appeared, was a very pretty little fishtail.

Gu Lin stared, not afraid. He patted his own fishtail with his little hand, and even guyonged^[1]T/N: Guyong (蛄蛹) describes a slow, wiggling movement, like a larva or worm. a bit, his movements clumsy, unable to move at all, not even making a ripple.

9527: …

Gu Lin: [My legs have turned into yuyu too!]

9527: [Little streamer, even turned into a little mermaid, you’re still the cutest!]

Gu Lin, being young, couldn’t remember to ask why his perfectly good chubby little legs had suddenly turned into a fishtail.

Gu Lin was still on the sofa, able to sit and lie down, but unable to stand.

He carefully studied his fishtail for a while, and then he found that his overalls were gone, replaced by a pink, frilly halter-neck baby doll top. Paired with the green fishtail, he looked just like a lotus flower bud.

Gu Lin tugged at his baby doll top. His skin was fair and tender, his lotus-root-like arms exposed, looking soft and bouncy.

Gu Lin, however, was full of questions.

Huh, how did his clothes change too?

Then he noticed a row of small numbers appearing on his fair and round little arm. The numbers were 9527.

Gu Lin: [9, 5, 2, 7… Huh? 9527, is that you?]

9527: …

9527: [This is little streamer’s number. Little streamer is the 9527th artificial fish.]

Gu Lin: [Oh.]

The livestream chat was about to explode with cuteness from this newly baked little mermaid cub, all turning into screaming chickens.

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

[Ahhhhhhhh, family, the cub is so cute!!!]

[Wuwuwuwuwu, I knew it, even if the cub turned into a little mermaid, he’d be a peerlessly feimei^[2]T/N: Feimei (肥美) means “plump and delicious” and is often used to describe seafood. Here, it’s used humorously to emphasize Gu Lin’s chubby cuteness. little mermaid, too cute!!!]

[What a peerless little treasure, come here and let auntie kiss you, so cute!!!]

[So cute, so cute, auntie’s heart is melting!!!]

[Reward Points x100]

[Reward Points x100]

–

Gu Lin had been sleeping on the sofa. Now he flipped over.

Just turned into a little mermaid, the cub was not used to it, and xiu he fell to the floor.

Gu Lin: “…”

9527: ?

Livestream: ?!

Fortunately, there was a soft rug by the sofa. Gu Lin didn’t hurt himself from the fall, but he was stunned, and it also scared 9527 and the aunties.

Without his short legs, Gu Lin lay on the rug by the sofa, tried, and could not get up.

He moved his fishtail. The fishtail swung up and down a couple of times, then stopped.

Gu Lin belatedly realized, anxiously: “Cub’s legs can’t move!”

9527: [Little streamer, don’t worry, after the mission is cleared, your legs will turn back!]

Gu Lin, hearing 9527 say this, didn’t dwell on the prerequisite of clearing the mission. Hearing that they could turn back, he said, “Mm-hmm.”

Gu Lin was now lying prone on the carpet. After trying and failing to get up, he found that lying on the carpet wasn’t uncomfortable, so he just continued lying there.

Thinking of something, Gu Lin suddenly raised his little head, his eyes suddenly shining: “Then can cub also have a scooter?”

9527: …

Um, little streamer, your mindset is really good.

Gu Lin was still sleepy from taking so much sleeping pills.

Seeing that Gu Lin was about to fall asleep directly on the rug, 9527 hurriedly woke him up: [Little streamer, do you want to practice how to crawl?]

Gu Lin said softly: [Why crawl?]

9527: [Later we can exchange a self-driving bumper car from the system store, to escape. Those VIPs all want to buy little mermaids. Be careful of being sold!]

As long as there were enough points, the system store could buy anything you wanted.

Hearing that he might be sold, Gu Lin remembered that Song Ran-shushu and the others had also said that mermaids would be sold at the Mermaid Festival.

And earlier, he had met those VIPs, and they all wanted to buy little mermaids!

Gu Lin looked at himself. He was now a little mermaid!

Gu Lin: [Let’s run quickly. If we’re sold, we can’t go home, and can’t see gege!]

Saying this, the cub was puzzled: [What’s a bumper car?]

9527: …

9527 stalled for a moment: [It’s a kind of little cheche, you give it a command, and it can drive itself. But it’s very expensive, it needs several thousand points.]

For a wealthy family like Gu Lin’s, several thousand points were nothing.

Hearing 9527 say this, Gu Lin nodded his little head, getting spirited: [Then cub will practice how to crawl.]

9527 pulled up a video of a baby learning to crawl, for him to follow.

Gu Lin: [This is a little baby, not a little mermaid!]

9527: [It’s about the same, little streamer. If you practice like this, you’ll definitely be able to crawl, and also get up.]

Gu Lin then watched the video in the void, following the little baby in the video to practice how to crawl.

Gu Lin’s fishtail looked beautiful, and cute, but it was like a prop, not very flexible. He didn’t know if it was because he didn’t know how to use it.

9527: [Let’s first crawl from this end of the sofa to the other end, and then crawl back.]

Gu Lin, hearing this, started heixiu heixiu^[3]T/N: Heixiu is an onomatopoeia for the sound of exertion, like “heave-ho.” crawling forward. His fishtail guyong guyong’d, but after guyonging for a long time, he didn’t move forward, still guyonging in place.

Gu Lin: “Heixiu—heixiu—”

After heixiuing for a while, Gu Lin: “Are we there yet?”

9527: …

9527: [It seems… not yet.]

Not only was it not yet, he had barely moved at all.

Gu Lin guyonged for a while, tired, and lay down on the carpet, his two little arms behind him, his chubby little face pressed against the carpet, looking like a miniature version of the Ge You slouch^[4]T/N: Ge You is a famous Chinese actor, and the “Ge You slouch” is a famous meme of him slouching on a sofa..

9527: [Little streamer, keep going!]

Gu Lin struggled to get up again. This time he started using his little arms, crawling forward on the carpet. He finally succeeded in moving two centimeters forward.

Having crawled these two centimeters, Gu Lin gained confidence. He crawled forward another few centimeters, but the whole time, his fishtail was like a decoration, not really used.

Before 9527 could cheer him on again, Gu Lin lazily lay down on the carpet again, only flapping his short fishtail up and down.

Gu Lin said pitifully, “Cub is tired, shuijiao.”

9527: …

The effects of the sleeping pills hadn’t completely worn off. Gu Lin woke up in the middle, entirely because it was lunchtime, and his biological clock woke him up.

At mealtime, the little cub had to chi fanfan, but now he wasn’t hungry, he didn’t know if it was related to turning into a little mermaid.

Gu Lin’s two short arms were pressed against his sides, his palms facing up, stretched out straight. Not long after, he actually fell asleep just lying on the carpet like that.

9527: …

Livestream: …So…so cute, I want to adopt one QAQ

–

As soon as Yu Youmian entered the room, he saw this scene.

The newly transformed little mermaid cub was lying sprawled on the rug in front of the sofa, fast asleep.

Yu Youmian was stunned for half a second, then quickly reacted.

He was still wearing his white coat and white gloves. His face was expressionless, the light behind his gold-rimmed glasses like a still lake, not revealing the slightest emotion.

Yu Youmian walked to the little mermaid, looked down at him for a while, then bent down, picked him up, and placed him back on the sofa.

Yu Youmian covered him with the small blanket and turned to leave. However, just as he reached the bedroom, a “thump” sounded from the living room.

Yu Youmian: “…”

Yu Youmian turned back and walked back into the living room. He saw the little mermaid cub he had just placed on the sofa lying back on the rug, his big eyes blinking, obviously stunned from the fall.

Gu Lin fell off the sofa, but he didn’t cry or fuss, just his little face was blank, not understanding what had happened.

Soon, a pair of feet appeared in his line of sight. Gu Lin raised his little head, looking up along the feet, and met Yu Youmian’s gaze.

Gu Lin obediently called out: “Doctor-shushu.”

He remembered the conversation between Yu Youmian and the mermaid town mayor earlier, when he was half-asleep, he didn’t know if he had actually heard it, or if he was dreaming.

Yu Youmian picked him up from the rug again and put him back on the sofa.

A few minutes later, Gu Lin was lying lazily on the sofa, holding a bottle of milk and drinking. His little fishtail swayed back and forth, looking very leisurely.

Except that the fishtail’s movements were very clumsy, looking a bit stiff.

Yu Youmian: “…”

He really didn’t know the dangers of the world.

Gu Lin said, “Doctor-shushu, where are Song Ran-shushu and Hat-gege?”

Who would have thought, the little cub, bearing everyone’s expectations, went to compete with Zhuang Mu to shed tears, only to end up not returning, and even getting himself captured.

“Hat-gege” as a title made Yu Youmian’s expression freeze for a moment.

He was stunned for a moment, then said, “One went missing, the other turned into a mermaid and was taken to the mermaid base.”

The one who went missing was the Double-Cap Big Shot, and the one who turned into a mermaid was Song Ran.

Up to now, except for the Double-Cap Big Shot, the other players had all turned into mermaids.

Now Gu Lin himself couldn’t escape, and the others couldn’t come to save him.

Gu Lin’s little face turned pale: “Then will cub be sold?”

Yu Youmian: “…No.”

He didn’t explain further.

Hearing that he wouldn’t be sold, Gu Lin breathed a sigh of relief and patted his little tummy.

He accidentally deflated the little flower on his baby doll top, and he used his hand to prop it back up.

Yu Youmian: “…”

After a moment, Yu Youmian came to Gu Lin with a medical kit.

He squatted down in front of Gu Lin, opened the medical kit, took out cotton and disinfectant, and then reached out to Gu Lin with his gloved hand.

Gu Lin tilted his head, not understanding. He was holding the milk in his left hand and placed his right hand in Yu Youmian’s palm.

Yu Youmian was slightly stunned, then said softly, “The other hand.”

Gu Lin said “Oh,” switched the milk to his right hand, and placed his left hand in Yu Youmian’s palm.

Gu Lin’s little hand was white, tender, and pink, small, soft, and chubby, with a small scratch that he didn’t know he’d gotten.

The wound wasn’t large, but it was already faintly oozing blood.

Gu Lin let out an “Eh,” not knowing when his little hand had gotten injured.

This scratch was from when he fell off the sofa.

Children’s skin is tender, a light bump can cause a scratch.

Yu Youmian quickly disinfected it for him.

Gu Lin remembered the fish in the secret room and said, “Doctor-shushu, can you give me seven little pearls?”

Yu Youmian: “…”

How many?

The aunties in the livestream chat died of laughter.

The little cub wanted pearls, and he remembered to ask for one for each of the other players.

But even one was good enough, yet he opened his mouth and asked for seven. Only a child less than two years old would dare to open his mouth so wide.

Yu Youmian said, “Even if there are no pearls, it doesn’t matter. After the Mermaid Festival, you can leave freely.”

He paused, his gaze shifting to his little fishtail, “The tail will also change back.”

Gu Lin lowered his little head, revealing the top of his head with his hair whorl: “I’m afraid gege will be angry.”

Yu Youmian was stunned.

Gu Lin said, “I haven’t gone home for two days. Gege must be angry with me. I’ll definitely get a beating.”

Yu Youmian: “Will your gege beat you?”

Gu Lin: “He hasn’t beaten me yet. Gege said he would beat me if I was disobedient. I used to be very obedient, so I’ve never been beaten.”

Yu Youmian packed up the medical kit, stood up, and pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose: “Then you really are a good baby.”

Gu Lin nodded unreservedly: “Mm-hmm.”

After a while, Gu Lin said again, “So I want to get little pearls. With little pearls, gege will believe that I went treasure hunting, and he won’t beat me.”

Yu Youmian: “…”

He couldn’t understand the connection between his gege beating him and treasure hunting.

Yu Youmian didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t talkative to begin with, let alone communicating with a naive child.

Gu Lin was still clenching his little fist, bababa: “Otherwise, I’ll tell gege that I didn’t find any treasure.”

Yu Youmian looked at this little cub who kept bababaing.

Whether he responded or not, this little cub seemed to be able to bababa non-stop.

It was now four o’clock in the afternoon. Outside, the fog had already risen, and the entire Mermaid Town was shrouded in thick black fog.

The curtains were all drawn, and the white lights in the room were on, making it impossible to tell the specific time.

Gu Lin had slept almost all day, and now he wasn’t sleepy. What’s more strange was that the little cub, who usually treated eating like his life, wasn’t hungry and didn’t want to eat.

Yu Youmian was quiet. Originally, there was no sound in the room all day long, but after Gu Lin woke up, the room became boisterous.

He seemed to be naturally familiar with everyone, and he never ran out of things to say.

His curiosity was also strong.

Seeing Yu Youmian reading a book, he asked, “Doctor-shushu, what are you reading?”

Yu Youmian: “A book.”

Gu Lin: “Oh.”

Yu Youmian: “…”

After a while, Gu Lin asked again, “Doctor-shushu, can you draw mermaids?”

Yu Youmian: “No.”

Gu Lin: “Oh.”

After another while, Gu Lin lay on the sofa, his two short little hands raised in the air, playing with the tag on the small blanket, and he could have a lot of fun with that.

He hummed “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” for a while, and then hummed the fish skewer song he learned from the front desk jiejie.

Without the worry of life or death, and after the Mermaid Festival, he could go home. This little cub was completely carefree, overly leisurely.

Yu Youmian: “…”

Yu Youmian closed the book and suddenly said, “You want pearls?”

Gu Lin turned his head to look over.

Yu Youmian: “I’ll take you.”

Gu Lin’s eyes lit up instantly, and he let out a “Yay,” and rolled off the sofa again.

Yu Youmian: “…”

–

Yu Youmian found a carrying basket, lined it with a small blanket, and then put Gu Lin, who had turned into a little mermaid cub, inside.

Gu Lin: “?”

Yu Youmian carried the basket. He was slender, but he could carry it with one hand without any effort.

He carried the packaged Gu Lin like this, walked into the elevator, and pressed the number -13.

The aunties in the livestream chat started screaming again:

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, this is so cute, cuteness overload!]

[Today, the cub’s cuteness value is maxed out. Auntie’s good cub]

[My throat is hoarse from screaming, he’s killing me with cuteness!!!]

 [Cub, fly bravely, auntie will always be with you! Let’s shout the slogan! [Reward Points x100]]

–

The elevator went all the way down from the fifth floor to the negative thirteenth floor.

With a “ding,” the elevator slowly opened to both sides.

Yu Youmian carried Gu Lin, very steadily, his arm not shaking at all.

After the elevator opened, the long corridor from before was in front of them, and at the end of the corridor was the heavy security door.

Yu Youmian carried the basket, walked to the security door, opened it with his fingerprint, and walked in.

Gu Lin lay in the basket, unable to move his little body. He could only see the ceiling above his head.

The mermaids in the glass walls were still asleep. Their fishtails had basically merged completely, turning into a single tail.

If Gu Lin could see, he would have seen Lin Xingchi, Su Qiao, and the others passing by, and behind them, Song Ran, who had also turned into a mermaid.

But the figure of the Double-Cap Big Shot was nowhere to be seen.

And Lin Xingchi and the others, their original short hair, had strangely turned into long hair, and it was still growing longer at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He didn’t know how long they walked, Gu Lin was rocked almost to sleep.

Yu Youmian finally stopped and used a key to open the secret room.

After the secret room opened, Yu Youmian carried Gu Lin inside, and the secret room door immediately closed behind them.

At this time, Gu Lin could still only see the ceiling above his head, but his little ears heard the sound of fishtails slapping the water.

Yu Youmian placed the basket on a table in the secret room, then took Gu Lin out of the basket, spread the blanket on the table, and let him sit on the blanket.

Gu Lin sat obediently.

Only then did he see the scene in the secret room.

In front of him was a glass wall, but this glass wall was different from the glass walls outside. Behind this glass wall was a very large pool, and the water in the pool was a clear, sapphire blue.

A blue fishtail slapped the surface of the water, and then a mermaid with an unrealistically beautiful appearance surfaced.

His facial features were exquisite, his skin pale to the point of near transparency, and his long, thick hair was pale blue.

His upper body was bare, and there were a few blue scales attached to his skin.

There was also a string of numbers on his arm, 000.

This mermaid seemed to glow from head to toe, beautiful to the extreme. Zhuang Mu was already good-looking, but in front of this mermaid, he was instantly overshadowed, lacking in comparison.

Like Zhuang Mu, his eyes were also sapphire blue, but they were deeper, and with a hint of enchanting charm, as if they were always smiling.

Gu Lin stared, seeing this mermaid, and strangely saw a shadow of Zhuang Mu-gege in him.

But he knew, this wasn’t Zhuang Mu-gege.

A sign was posted on the glass wall, listing the basic information about this mermaid, but there were only three short lines.

[Number: 000]

[Name: Yu Youqing]

[Description: Initial Mermaid]

Gu Lin saw the three 0s, but he couldn’t read, so he didn’t understand.

This mermaid named Yu Youqing, seeing Yu Youmian, showed a mocking smile.

But seeing Gu Lin, this little mermaid, he was stunned for a moment, and then smiled and swam over.

He lay by the edge of the pool, his slender arms folded together, smiling at Gu Lin.

Gu Lin didn’t flinch, meeting his gaze cutely. He saw the blue scales on his arms, and he pinched his own fair and tender little arms, then looked at the other person again.

Yu Youqing: “…”

After a moment of stunned silence, this mermaid named Yu Youqing chuckled softly, seeming to find this little mermaid cub amusing.

It was the first time he had seen a little mermaid.

Yu Youqing raised an eyebrow slightly at Yu Youmian.

From the moment Yu Youmian entered the secret room, his expression had been consistently cold, with no discernible emotions.

He was wearing a white coat, white gloves on his hands, spotless.

Yu Youmian said lightly, “He wants a pearl.”

Yu Youqing showed that mocking smile again.

Gu Lin’s childish voice rang out: “Doctor-shushu, it’s seven.”

Yu Youmian: “…”

Yu Youqing: “…………”

Yu Youqing was stunned for a longer time this time, again amused by this little mermaid. He wasn’t angry, obviously more tolerant of this cub.

He saw at first glance that this little mermaid baby, like Zhuang Mu, wasn’t transformed with secondary serum, but with the serum of a real mermaid.

Yu Youqing smiled, and a tear slowly slid down from his sapphire blue eyes. As the tear fell, it instantly solidified into a pearl with a brilliant luster.

Gu Lin’s eyes widened xiu.

Wow, it really turned into a little pearl!

Yu Youqing saw Gu Lin’s reaction and curled his lips.

He placed the pearl in his palm, reached out to Gu Lin, and said the first sentence since they met, his voice also very pleasant: “Kid, if you want it, come get it yourself.”