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Chapter 63: An An is the Most Expensive
The door closed with a thud in front of him, and Mu Chen took a quick step back to prevent being bumped into. Instead, he stepped on the foot of the person behind him, and he lifted his heel and stepped down again.
“Hey!” Garrett pushed him down, moved his foot away, and asked angrily, “Mu Chen, did you do that on purpose!”
“How could it be? I was just careless,” Mu Chen said, afraid to let go of Garrett’s hand on his shoulder, looking at the closed door and gritting his teeth. “If you don’t put your hand on my shoulder, I’ll go in!”
Garrett took a deep breath, still relishing the scent, and slapped him on the shoulder. “You really did it on purpose!”
Mu Chen said no, turned around, saw the army chiefs, and his upper body leaned back a little. “Why are you all following me? No wonder His Majesty closed down so quickly!”
“Admiral Mu Chen, you just followed without saying a word, did you already know that An An was not sending nutrients?”
“Admiral Mu Chen, you want to eat alone again!”
Mu Chen spread his hands. “I don’t even have food, how can I eat?” He sighed. “If it was just me, maybe I could get some good food from His Majesty again, but now there are so many people, forget it, let’s go.”
Garrett was gluttonous. “You’ve eaten it?”
Mu Chen thought it didn’t make sense to say he hadn’t just eaten, and said as he walked out, “I took Little Silver to play with An An earlier, and An An had the cook make dim sum.”
He decided to go home and bake the fish Little Silver had given him today to soothe his restless five-gut house. He was now very thankful that Little Silver favored food, and all the condiments in the house were purified by Little Silver, and the cook made the grilled fish with pure fish and ingredients, which was super fragrant.
It was only a pity that there was only fish—too little variety.
But looking at the rest of the army chiefs with gluttonous faces, his lost heart was immediately comforted, and he silently planned to encourage Little Silver to play with An An.
The sixth army chief clapped his hands. “Speaking of which, my mermaid really likes An An. An An has done a great job for the translator, and I haven’t even thanked him properly.”
“Me too!” The fourth army chief echoed, and he and the sixth army chief looked at each other, their eyes all shining brightly.
Garrett knew his colleagues very well and immediately understood what they meant, and he had the same idea of taking Rui Rui to play with An An and expressing his thanks in the process. However, yesterday he picked up the mermaid, today it was to thank the little wh
thank the director.
He made a decisive decision and contacted Chief Xie.
The heads of four and six walked back to his office while exclaiming, “His Majesty is so happy! If only my mermaid was as well behaved as An An.”
“No need to send food, just give me pure fish, I’ll be grateful.”
Inside the office, An Jin quickly set up the meal and looked up at the sound of the door closing; the army chiefs’ figures were abruptly blocked by the door. He turned his head and Norman’s fingers were just moving away from the controls at the table, his expression the usual calm, emotion unreadable.
He had thought that the army chiefs were going home before they went to the parking lot, but now it seemed that he had misunderstood. He rested his hands on the desk and squeezed his fingertips, his brow furrowed slightly. “Are you guys up to something? They seem to be looking for you.”
Norman pressed his fingertips against his brow. “Nothing, attracted by the lunch.”
An Jin’s brow unconsciously stretched. He blinked quickly, eyes flashing with surprise, and remembered the world, he showed a dazed look. It was no secret that mermaids could purify food, so he had no worries when he delivered the food.
But the reality now was that even if the breeders did business with mermaids and exchanged star coins for pure fish, they couldn’t eat like he did.
Norman looked down to the bottom of the table, the little mermaid’s tail had become legs, and he was sitting very stable, sitting very well, as if a teenager in class. He looked unconsciously softer. “You eat first.”
He turned around and went to the office’s matching bathroom, unbuttoning his cuffs as he went to facilitate hand washing. He had fought before, and although he stayed in the mecha without getting dusty or dirty, his palms would get sweaty. When he washed his hands and came out, he saw the teenager setting up the dishes without opening them, his little head poking around curiously.
An Jin came to Norman’s office for the first time and couldn’t help but be curious.
The office was spacious and simple, with a set of desks and chairs and a set of hospitality sofas, backed by a flush wall of cabinets, which held many folders, but they were all chips, few paper documents, and some starships and mecha models.
An Jin’s eyes involuntarily brought a smile, Norman really liked models ah. He and Norman had similar hobbies!
With this thought, he was in a happier mood, and his heart was a bit sweet.
Norman came back and saw the teenager with his body on his side, his hand on the back of the chair, twisting his head to look at the models in the cabinet. His expression was very pleasant. The teenager’s body twisted, and the hem of his shirt moved up slightly, revealing white skin.
Norman’s eyes flickered and he walked over, opened the cabinet, and took out a black mecha model. “Here you go.”
An Jin tilted his head to look at him, a little embarrassed. It was rude to look around in someone else’s space. If it wasn’t Norman’s office, he wouldn’t be so casual. It’s just that Norman gave him something as if he had just looked at it and was sending the message that he “wanted” it, like a child who didn’t know any better.
He shook his head. “I’m just looking at it, you put it back.”
“Not like that? You just kept staring.”
An Jin said, “You like it too. If I want to see it, I can come back to your office later.”
Norman thought this was a good suggestion and put the mecha back. An Jin turned around and sat down to have lunch with Norman. The meal was very warm.
After eating, An Jin packed up the lunch box, got up, and walked towards the bathroom. He was wearing a full fishtail dress and could only take very small steps because he was going to the mermaid center later.
Norman took him by the shoulders. “Where to?”
Next door to the bathroom were the restroom and the lounge. An Jin pointed to the bathroom and lifted his hand to show him. “Wash my hands.”
Norman’s eyes swept over the teenager’s long white fingers. Although he had wiped with paper, there was still a little oil on his fingertips because he had just squeezed the ribs while gnawing on them. He leaned over and gently picked up the teenager across the body.
An Jin let out a soft cry. Subconsciously, he wanted to grab Norman’s clothes, but caring about his dirty hands, he forced himself to hold back, both hands in the air. “Why didn’t you tell me in advance!”
He said something complaining, but his voice was soft, like a pout.
Norman put him in front of the sink. “Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
An Jin heard his repeated words and tilted his head in confusion. “Huh?”
Norman stood behind him and put both hands under his armpits, resting on the sink, enclosing him in a small circle.
Norman looked down and said, “You want to wash your hands and you can’t walk without telling me,” he paused, his tone serious, “An An, I like to take care of you.”
An Jin froze, was his boyfriend unhappy because he didn’t actively ask for help?
He subconsciously explained, “It’s just inconvenient, I can do it, it’s not hard,” he smiled, “and I can’t ask you to help with everything.”
Norman said seriously, “I’m right there with you, I want you to let me help.”
An Jin thought about it and laughed. “Then I won’t be polite in the future.”
It was perfectly fine to meet his boyfriend’s expectations a little. He pressed some hand sanitizer into his palm, tilted his head, and asked, “Do you want some?”
Norman swept his white palm and nodded. “Yes.”
So An Jin added more hand sanitizer and Norman reached out and put half of it in his palm and rubbed it all over his hand. An Jin was held in his arms and his back was pressed against Norman’s chest, and he could clearly feel the difference in height between them. He lowered his head and rubbed the hand sanitizer, and somehow felt a sense of security, as if he felt safe with Norman behind him.
After a while, Norman held the teenager’s hand, both hands together under the faucet. The water rinsed the foam on his hands, and he turned them over and continued to rinse. After rinsing, Norman took this position and put both hands under the dryer together.
An Jin’s fingers moved. “It’s dry.”
Norman looked at the mirror image of the intimate embrace, a little reluctant to let go.
An Jin sensed his thoughts, his heart thumping, and said after a moment of silence, “I’m going to the mermaid center later.”
Little Silver had recently fallen in love with water soccer and was urging him to get a team together sooner rather than later. He found the sport good for exercise, so he took part in it every day.
Norman said, “I’ll walk you.”
He nudged his hand, waited for him to release it, turned around, and they stood opposite each other.
An Jin tilted his head to look at him. “I can drive a hover car now, you can just drop me off. You can save your lunch break, and you will have more spiritual power in the afternoon.”
Norman laughed and kissed him on the tip of his pretty nose. “An An worried about my lack of energy?”
His voice was low and magnetic, and An Jin’s face burned. “No,” he said seriously as his eyes wandered for a moment to meet Norman’s again, “I don’t want to cause you any trouble, and I want you to have an easier life.”
Norman looked at his good soft caring look, his eyes darkened slightly, and he lowered his head to kiss the crimson lips, giving half a sound before releasing them. To the young man, who was leaning on him with his feet softly, Norman suddenly said, “An An, be my mate, okay?”
An Jin’s eyes widened abruptly, his heart thumping. He did not expect Norman to say it so suddenly. Norman’s eyes flashed with chagrin, but did not regret it. He originally planned to follow the steps, step by step, slowly, but the little mermaid was really good. He wanted to confirm the relationship with the little mermaid.
An Jin was in the dark for a while, and saw Norman looking at him intently, and his always calm expression looked a little nervous. He said, “I, I would like to be your mate, but I may not be mature enough and not ready yet.”
An Jin’s mind raced to think of what he would need to get married, and then realized that he had nothing but the super tiny hover car he had just bought, and a little savings. And the money he owed Norman hadn’t been paid off! He’s still in the process of paying off his debt.
“I don’t have the assets to be ready for marriage yet.” Influenced by modern thinking, An Jin felt that he was in a terrible situation and was not in a position to get married.
Norman wondered, “Why do you need to prepare?”
“Both parties are equal, I can’t take advantage of you,” An Jin’s cheeks puffed out, “like a little wife bought by you.”
Norman looked thoughtful. “Do you want us to be financially equal?”
An Jin nodded, then thought for a moment. “I’ll make more A agent every day and try to pay you back sooner.”
For twenty-five billion, I need two hundred and fifty boxes of Agent A, now two boxes per day. In reality, after his ability upgrade, four boxes was no problem; if he absorbed another beast core, it would be easier, and only take a day to purify. He blinked and decided to make it, but not tell Norman how to do it for now.
His eyes lit up, this would help a lot of people, and it wouldn’t affect the mermaid status quo! Although the beast core also may not be useful to humans, after all, humans have had the beast cores for so long, and the beast core use and relation to energy, was perhaps studied long ago.
But to be on the safe side, it’s better to wait until the memory gene repair could be used clinically, and mermaids could learn knowledge without having to rely on spiritual force.
Without waiting for Norman to say anything, he added, “Give me a little time?”
Norman nodded. “I’ll send you to the mermaid center.”
An Jin replied, “I can really do it myself.”
Eventually, Norman drove the little mermaid to the mermaid center himself, but the little mermaid drove the hover car by himself, with his hover car following behind. An Jin’s hover car landed in the mermaid center parking lot, and after he turned into a wheelchair with both legs, he opened the door and controlled the wheelchair to slide down the metal plate attached to the ground. He turned his head and saw Norman jumping out of the black hover car with a light and sharp gesture.
An Jin’s chin lifted slightly, his eyes curved, his head tilted toward the entrance, and then he steered the wheelchair toward the mermaid center gate. The little mermaid’s blue eyes were very bright and the slight chin lift looked playful and cute.
A smile floated on Norman’s lips, which soon disappeared without a trace, and his hard features carried a serious expression. His eyes were particularly soft when he looked at the little mermaid in front of him.
An Jin smoothly drove the car to the entrance of the entertainment area, controlled the wheelchair to turn one hundred and eighty degrees, and looked at Norman who came over. “Look, I came here alone, no problem at all.”
The young mermaid’s voice was light and quick, as if he was happy and pleased with himself for doing this independently.
Norman looked down at him and said seriously, “An An is great,” he bent down, his voice lowered, “but I still want to send An An.”
An Jin’s long, upturned eyelashes swept up and down, pursing his lips. “Don’t you worry about me?”
He was special, but he didn’t want to make Norman take more trouble because of this special need. He hoped that one day, even if he went out as a mermaid, he would not attract the attention or covetousness of others.
Norman’s deep eyes looked at him. “No, I want to spend more time with An An, to see more of An An.”
He had never been able to beat around the bush, and he said what he wanted. An Jin’s fingers, which were casually resting on the armrest, were unconsciously hard, and his nails popped out with a whoosh. He hastily raised his hand, and his nails quickly retracted. He secretly hoped that Norman did not see his disorder. He took a deep breath to steady his beating heart and whispered, “Well, then, I’ll ask you when you’re free in the future.”
Norman rubbed the top of the little mermaid’s hair. “It’s no trouble.”
Norman didn’t want to spoil his trip to the recreation area alone, not to mention the fact that he was already there and there was no need to worry about the little mermaid’s safety at all. He took a step back. “You go in.”
An Jin looked up at him, hinted, turned around, and drove forward a little distance before turning his head again, raising his hand and waving. “See you this afternoon.”
Norman stood in the same position and watched him off. When he saw him wave, his face softened. “See you this afternoon.”
Once inside the entertainment area, An Jin glanced at the pool and was surprised. The mermaids were all gathered in the corner, whispering in a circle, and in the middle was Jorens, pointing at the virtual screen and saying something excitedly. Because of the distance, and deliberately low voice, the shore can not hear at all.
An Jin immediately knew that this was a deliberate attempt to avoid the breeders in the glass house. Not knowing what Jorens said, the mermaids’ expressions became clearly angry. An Jin was curious and controlled the wheelchair as it approached the pool while releasing his senses.
Jorens was saying, “You have no security at all, you will be auctioned off for a stranger you have never met as owner. They are only nice to you now because your songs transmit spiritual force to them. Now that Agent A is on the market, humans have soothing agents, and there will be more effective soothing agents in the future. When they don’t need you, they will throw you away at will, and you are even more pitiful than stray dogs and cats, because you have been raised to be wasted and have no ability to survive.”
“Nonsense! We’re already practicing our ability to survive in the sea now!”
“Ah! I can only remember a little bit about the sea, what if I forget a lot of it!”
Jorens said, “This planet is occupied by humans; mermaids are intelligent creatures, we are simply not fit to live with humans. We have our own land and can make decisions for ourselves, not be auctioned off at will and have no freedom or rights.” Jorens paused and added, “We should escape!”
“But
my two-legged beast is very good to me.” Gu Gu blinked his big green eyes. “He needs my help.”
“Yeah, the two-legged beast has not found a cure for spiritual riots yet. If we leave, what will they do?”
Jorens couldn’t believe it. “Don’t you forget, they treat you like pets!”
“Nonsense, my two-legged beast calls me master.”
“Yes,” Little Silver echoed, “I’m the master.”
Jorens’ heart was tired, this clan was too naive! He pointed to the virtual screen. “Look at the news, the one being auctioned is a mermaid, and look at this ad for a rare pet auction, it’s the exact same thing. They just pay lip service, they don’t treat you as masters at all, they are just coaxing you anyway, the actual decision still rests with them.”
An Jin looked at Jorens with surprise, This mermaid was very different! Jorens words made all the mermaid stunned, and they unconsciously grinned to reveal sharp canine teeth, a very fierce look. Jorens saw this and was in an extraordinarily happy mood! He thought in his head that in order to persuade the king and his kind, he had to think of a good way.
Suddenly, he saw the news of the mermaid auction on Starnet, God help me! He moved his hand to the terminal, thinking that at a time like this, when the kindred would see the happy inhabitants of the mermaid planet, they would be eager to leave the human race!
His white-gray eyes glowed vaguely.
“Damned two-legged beasts!” A mermaid roared. This mermaid happened to be beside Jorens, and the roar was too loud. Jorens hand shook, and he silently moved away a bit, ready to tune the video.
“Cunning two-legged beast, are you lying to me?” Little Silver was furious.
Mu Chen was preparing to eat grilled fish, saw Little Silver’s communication, immediately connected and he was yelled at. He became confused. “No, why would I dare to cheat you!”
He said this and took a bite of the fish, thinking, For the sake of food, he wouldn’t dare to upset this ancestor!
Jorens heard the human voice, and his finger stopped at the play button with a confused look. He lowered his voice. “How can you contact humans!”
“Are you questioning how I do things?” Little Silver glanced at him, turned, and wandered away from the corner, then said angrily to the terminal, “You don’t treat me like a master, you just coax me!”
Mu Chen opened his mouth to bite the fish and paused, inexplicably a little weak, but on second thought, his attitude towards Little Silver was more than master!
“I mean it!” Mu Chen poked at the situation. “What makes you think so? Did someone say something bad about me? How can you listen to others and not believe me? I
”
“Shut up!” Little Silver wrinkled his eyebrows. “Noisy!”
Mu Chen took a deep breath and was aggrieved. “Master, you misunderstood me, you have to let me defend myself, right? It’s not good for family harmony if we don’t talk clearly.”
Little Silver said angrily, “Will the master be auctioned off? Cunning two-legged beast, you are still lying to me! If we can’t read the news, we’ll be fooled by you for the rest of our lives!”
Mu Chen hurriedly flipped through the news, and he saw a preview of the Scientific Research Institute’s August mermaid auction, and his brow furrowed. “Don’t get excited, I’ll go ask for clarification first. Don’t worry, I definitely won’t auction you off.”
In addition to Little Silver, the rest of the mermaids contacted their breeders, angrily scolded, seriously pointing to the breeder cheating the mermaid.
Some of the mermaids were so vocal that they snapped, “I’ll never sing to you again, or give you a good fish! Bastard two-legged beast, big liar!”
Jorens watched the scene and wanted to get the mood of the mermaids going again while it was still hot, but the mermaids around him were communicating with the humans and would be heard if they spoke. He sank into self-doubt, was his attack plan bad? Was it not perfect? Why was this so?
These kindred spirits, actually did not immediately decide to bolt, but also to “teach” and “rebuke” the humans.
An Jin listened to the mermaids and probably understood what had happened. He opened the terminal and, not surprisingly, saw the news about the auction of mermaids in the research institute. He frowned and looked thoughtful.
At the research institute, Yuna’s communication was almost burst by the mermaid breeders. He had two big heads, refused to answer all of them, and looked at the head of the publicity department. In a deep voice, he asked, “What’s going on? I thought we had to wait for the results of the discussion before sending them out this month?”
The white-faced publicity head said, “Huge sorry, the publicity was prepared in advance. After receiving notice, was deleted, should be in the trash. Do not know why it was suddenly sent out.”
Yuna said, “Delete it immediately, prepare a statement. There is a change of plan, wait for the notice, you go deal with it quickly.”
The person in charge hurriedly responded, turned around, and left the dean’s office.
Yuna thought about it and contacted An Jin. “An An, the mermaids trust you and listen to you, can you help calm the mermaids?”
An Jin looked at the mermaids. “Although the mermaids are not judged to be intelligent beings, it is public knowledge that the mermaids have intelligence, and I don’t think they should be auctioned off.”
Yuna was embarrassed. “I also understand, recently the research institute held many meetings. Each mermaid costs a lot of money, not auctioned, in the future there may only be natural born mermaids, and this number, very few.” He paused and asked, “What do you think should be done with the mermaids?”
An Jin was a little surprised, not expecting Yuna to ask him, but instead of pushing back, he said, “Ask the mermaid’s opinion.”
Soon, new rules about keeping mermaids were introduced.
Mermaids themselves chose breeders and they signed employment contracts. There were employment wages, with the mermaid and the institute each getting half. The institute got the money to reach the average price of the previous mermaid auction, and no longer charged money. They were relatively fair provisions, and only candidate breeders must meet the conditions, after all, breeding mermaids included not only feeding and protection.
The mermaids gradually calmed down after hearing this news.
“Hmph, the two-legged beasts are still obedient.”
“Damn it, I seem to have been auctioned off! Five billion.”
“Haha, I’m eight billion! I’m more expensive than you!”
“Heh, you guys haven’t seen the news, have you? An An is the most expensive, twenty-five billion!” Little Silver, who was holding An Jin’s shoulder, scorned the mermaids around him.
The corners of An Jin’s mouth twitched, he didn’t want to argue about it!
Jorens, cowering in the corner, gritted his teeth and sulked. Damn, the incitement failed!!