Early morning, before dawn.

A barely noticeable black figure leapt down from a high window, landing with a nimble roll that absorbed the momentum, making almost no sound in the darkness.

It wasn’t until he landed that Yu Bai realized climbing out through the window like that had been a bit reckless.

First, he didn’t know the roads around the auction house—coming out rashly could be even more dangerous.

Second, Fu Linyuan was still inside the auction house.

But he clearly remembered the face of the human who had just used a keycard to open the suite door.

In his past life, it was this very person who pushed the water tank containing him onto the transport vehicle headed for the laboratory.

Later, he saw that person again in the laboratory.

That was after another failed escape attempt, when the people in the lab came up with a new method to prevent him from leaving.

They made a metal ring fixed with chains at the bottom of the observation tank. The ring was sized perfectly to encircle his waist snugly.

Inside the metal ring was a thin, barbed hook.

The sharp metal pierced the skin of his lower back and hooked tightly onto his spine.

Merfolk had strong self-healing abilities, so soon the flesh around the barb healed almost completely and fused with the hook.

But those people in lab coats probably severed a nerve on purpose, because from then on, his silver fishtail could no longer move freely.

The barb embedded in his bone also caused him constant, piercing pain from that point on.

Every breath, every tiny movement, would double the agony.

The person who had just opened the suite door was the same one who had once been responsible for delivering the metal ring to the operating room.

So the moment the little mermaid recognized him, alarm bells went off in his head and he instinctively wanted to flee.

With the only exit blocked, in desperation

he pushed open the window inside the room. Luckily, the floor wasn’t too high, and there was a decorative sculpture midway that he could use for leverage. Even though his physical condition wasn’t great, he still landed safely and in one piece.

However, because his ankle still hurt, when he rolled upon landing, his center of gravity tilted slightly, and the disguise device clipped to his ear fell to the ground.

It seemed to have broken immediately. When Yu Bai groped around in the dark to pick it up and reattach it to his ear, the silver long hair on his shoulder didn’t disappear.

Under the twinkling starlight, he saw that he was also in a short alley.

Yu Bai examined his surroundings and followed the wall toward the brighter direction.

If he remembered correctly, human buildings were generally square.

If he walked around the building once, he’d probably be able to find the entrance — and find Fu Linyuan, who was still inside, right?

Thinking this, Yu Bai leaned against the wall and took one step after another forward.

Soon, he reached a well-lit area.

It was the marketplace outside the auction house, filled with numerous traveling interstellar merchants.

If the auction house sold the best quality goods from the black market, then the merchants outside were responsible for trading the leftovers.

Even though it was early morning, the area was still brightly lit and bustling with noise.

Only when he turned a corner did Yu Bai discover that the flow of merchants was blocking his path along the wall.

What should he do?

His ankle was still throbbing with pain. The little mermaid glanced back at the dark alley he had just emerged from and dismissed the idea of circling back from the other side. He decided to cut through the marketplace instead.

Clutching the hem of the oversized coat on his body, Yu Bai stepped into the crowd.

The air here wasn’t pleasant: the smell of cheap motor oil, choking smoke, muddy ground, lingering sweat — all kinds of odors mixed together, making Yu Bai wrinkle his nose involuntarily.

…So stinky.

But just then, amid the unpleasant air, a whiff of food aroma suddenly drifted in.

Before Yu Bai could react, his stomach growled loudly.

…So hungry.

When was the last time he had eaten?

It must have been before arriving at Tarl Star.

Two days? Or was it three?

Once he started thinking about it, the hunger became more and more pronounced.

Rubbing his belly, the little mermaid’s steps unconsciously followed the scent.

In front of a food stall, that long silver hair and refined features stood out starkly among the burly, rough men, making the beautiful customer attract quite a bit of attention in no time.

The looks coming from all directions carried different meanings, but Yu Bai seemed completely unaware of the danger lurking around him. His sea-blue eyes were purely focused, staring at the stall owner grilling star beast meat over the fire.

He looked exactly like a lamb that had wandered into a pack of wolves.

However, the golden lapel pin from the nearby auction house pinned on the collar of his coat made some of the greedy star pirates hesitate.

The clean coat looked expensive, and many recognized the mark of an auction house VIP.

So before acting on other thoughts, they had to consider whether they could afford to offend the owner of that coat.

Of course, not everyone understood that the golden ouroboros symbolized wealth and status.

For example, the two blue-skinned Punkans sitting at the table next to Yu Bai were eyeing the little mermaid with blatant greed.

Punkans were usually tall and burly, with a particular fondness for delicate, small things.

“So pretty, is he human?” one asked in a low voice.

“Probably,” his companion said, his eyes roaming over Yu Bai’s slender hand resting on the table. “Only humans would have such thin fingers and look so fragile.”

The first one asked again, “Can we sell him for five?”

“I think even more. Look at his hair…”

But while Yu Bai appeared completely unaware of the danger, he had long since noticed the attention he was attracting.

It was just that before sitting down, he had also carefully scanned the mental seas of the people around him.

Hmm, at least among the dozens of customers at the stall, their mental seas were all shallow and dim — not even one-tenth as strong as Fu Linyuan.

If they’re not as strong as Fu Linyuan, then I don’t have to be afraid.

Yu Bai thought this as he stared at the grilled meat in front of him and swallowed.

Besides, this meat looked so clean — different from the stuff he used to catch and eat.

His small Adam’s apple bobbed with the motion, nearly driving the Punkan sitting beside him mad with envy.

The stall owner was an older woman, and she immediately noticed the ill intentions coming from all around.

Normally, she wouldn’t bother getting involved in something like this, just a small vendor. But maybe it was the purity in the young man’s eyes in front of her—it made her feel a bit of pity.

So when the plate was placed in front of Yu Bai, the aunt softly reminded him, “Finish eating quickly and go back, understand?”

“Boss lady, don’t be such a buzzkill!” The star pirates sitting nearby had good hearing, and hearing her say that, a teasing laugh came from somewhere in the corner. “Maybe they’re not done playing yet. It’s late at night; don’t you feel lonely being all by yourself?”

This comment triggered a burst of laughter from everyone.

Because their accents were so thick that Yu Bai couldn’t understand a word, he didn’t know why everyone suddenly made noise at the same time. The sudden increase in volume made him instinctively twitch his ears, and one corner of his ear fin unintentionally peeked out from his hair before being covered by his silver-white hair.

Meanwhile, the little mermaid’s attention was fully drawn to the steaming roasted meat in front of him.

He grabbed a piece, blew on it forcefully, then took a big bite.

Due to the angle, only the two punk star people at the next table noticed this detail.

The two exchanged a glance, and in each other’s eyes, they saw the same shock and fervor.

The moment Fu Linyuan opened the door, he sensed that something was wrong.

Even though everything in the room was exactly as it had been before he left, there was just something odd in the air.

Frowning, he pushed open the door to the inner room.

The room was very quiet, with only the curtains by the window gently swaying from the breeze.

No one was there.

The little mermaid was gone.

He glanced down from the window and had a rough idea of what had happened.

Duke wouldn’t lie to him, which meant that after Duke left the little mermaid behind, someone else might have come in.

Now, there were two possibilities.

Either the intruder took the little mermaid away, or the little mermaid noticed the intruder and managed to escape through the window before the intruder could enter.

Fu Linyuan scanned the surroundings.

There were no signs of a struggle, only some signs that the bed near the window had been disturbed.

… He’s very clever.

Fu Linyuan thought.

However, now their plan had been delayed because they had stayed an extra hour at the auction.

It had been an accident; although he had promised to save him, rescuing him from the auction was already fulfilling that promise.

The mission was not over yet, and his focus should not be on such unexpected matters.

With that thought, Fu Linyuan prepared to leave.

But just as he reached the door, something seemed to cross his mind, and he paused.

His jaw tightened, and the man turned around, quickly walking back to the window.

…

Yu Bai’s appearance was so striking that Fu Linyuan easily found the barbecue stall by following the scattered conversations around him.

The boss lady had a deep impression of the beautiful guest and pointed him in the right direction.

Thus, there was a sense of urgency in his steps that even he didn’t notice.

Human trafficking was a common occurrence on Tarl Star.

Those with striking looks were prime targets for human traffickers.

And the fate of these victims was usually…

The surrounding lights grew fewer, yet the light didn’t dim.

It turned out that dawn was approaching.

The noise of people gradually faded, and Fu Linyuan turned into a small alley overgrown with weeds.

The surroundings gradually quieted down.

And in the breeze that met him, there was a faint hint of blood.

The man quickened his pace.

Another turn.

“Bang!”

A faint sound of a body hitting the ground echoed ahead, heavy and forceful.

Quickening his pace, Fu Linyuan finally saw the frail figure crouching not far away.

Noticing the large patches of blood on the person, he couldn’t help but frown.

“…How did you end up here?”

Hearing his voice, the person crouched on the ground turned around.

Then those sea-blue eyes curved into a beautiful crescent.