Chapter 120: Chapter 120: "Congratulations, Host, You Have Conceived!
The requirements for a Mermaid to reproduce are incredibly strict.
Outsiders don’t know the full story; they merely believe that reproduction requires a Mermaid’s "willingness."
That as long as they are "willing," it can happen.
The Mermaids who end up in the auction houses of other Empires are subjected to all sorts of treatment after being bought, even brutal torture and coercion.
But they never bear any offspring.
Because—
Only love can grant them the strength to reproduce.
Only when they fall in love with someone can they create the crystal of their love.
A Mermaid’s love is very difficult to obtain.
Among the Sea Clan, other groups thrived and multiplied, while the Mermaid Clan struggled to continue their lineage precisely because they lack the capacity for "love."
The first time the man heard this, he thought the lie was too childish and clumsy. Although his younger brother was an adult, he was immature—even his lies were full of holes.
But for some reason, he hesitated.
A thought faintly flickered through his mind—
’What if it’s true?’
’How ridiculous. The greater part of me knows it’s impossible.’
She’s just an ordinary little female rabbit. How could she possibly have won the ardent and enduring love of a Mermaid Male in such a short time?
A wave of irritation washed over him, and he raised his hand, tossing the bloody head behind him.
"Halt the assassinations for now."
The man gripped his long blade again. His burly, imposing figure, like that of a mature male lion, began to slowly patrol his territory.
His dark brown eyes were exceedingly arrogant and domineering, yet held a hint of amusement. "If she really is carrying a child of the Mermaid Clan, then wait for that little female of the Rabbit Clan to give birth—"
"Then kill her."
Either way, she was dead.
Not even the end of the world could change his decision!
"Yes, my lord!"
The subordinate bowed respectfully and quickly relayed Lord Shen He’s order: the assassination operations concerning Paradise were to be temporarily suspended.
When Luther returned, he noticed a strange residual aura at the entrance of the wooden house.
The guards stood solemnly at their posts. Upon seeing him, they all gave a military salute.
They just thought it was a little strange.
’Captain Luther just left a short while ago, and now he’s back?’
The young captain of the Paradise Guard Team realized something. He rushed inside to check the situation and found two figures eating at the coffee table—
Ms. Zhi Zhi and the Mermaid. They were having a late-night snack.
The wooden house was quiet.
"My apologies." Luther’s face was full of regret. "This was our negligence."
The enemy was despicable, resorting to all sorts of tactics. This time, they had even found a master highly skilled in the Disguise Technique, fooling all the guards at the door.
But judging by the scene inside the house, it seemed the intruder hadn’t succeeded.
Louis was sick...
’So, did the Mermaid help?’
Yu Zhizhi was drinking a creamy mushroom soup. She let out a soft "hmm." The young man before her looked almost identical to the previous one.
That heretic’s Disguise Technique was too good.
If Yusen hadn’t warned her, Yu Zhizhi wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart at all.
The Mermaid leaned against the sofa, not saying a word.
Yu Zhizhi smiled. "It’s alright. Luther, are you hungry? Would you like some?"
The young man saluted. "Thank you for the kind offer, Ms. Zhi Zhi, but I’m not hungry."
Yu Zhizhi drank the rest of her mushroom soup in one gulp.
She was a little concerned about Louis’s condition.
Unable to help herself, she walked toward the room at the far end of the first floor. When she reached the doorway, she saw a faint, barely-there "white mist" wafting out from under the door.
The light was too dim to penetrate the room, so she couldn’t see clearly.
But then she heard Louis’s weak and hoarse voice. "...Miss, please don’t come in for now."
"Are you okay?" Yu Zhizhi asked with concern.
"I’m fine. Just a little tired. Let me rest for the night, and I’ll come see you tomorrow, okay?"
Louis’s voice was soft and weak, punctuated by heavy panting, as if he were in great pain.
Yu Zhizhi nodded lightly. "Okay, then get some rest. I’ll come see you tomorrow."
Although she was very worried about Louis’s condition, he clearly didn’t want her to enter the room.
Hearing the footsteps gradually fade away, Louis, curled up under the covers inside the room, began to convulse uncontrollably from the waist up.
His physical condition was already terrible to begin with.
But when the Disguiser entered the house, Louis had still used his Strength. This caused his body, already riddled with wounds, to suffer another backlash from his Spiritual Power.
It had reached the point where he didn’t even have the energy to maintain a fully human appearance.
He had currently entered a state of partial Beastification...
The curled-up young man’s emerald-like left eye held a mocking expression. "Tsk, tsk—"
He taunted him without restraint.
"That little rabbit loves a pretty face so much. She can’t get enough of the Mermaid. If she saw you in this monstrous state, she’d probably never want to see you again for the rest of her life."
"But how long can you hide, Louis?"
"Don’t entertain such unrealistic fantasies—"
"What if one day, she wakes up in your bed and sees you, your true form exposed from overexcitement? She’d probably scream in terror, HAHAHAHA!"
"How could you even have those kinds of thoughts about her?"
"Louis! Do you really have no self-awareness at all?"
Curled up under the covers, Louis’s ink-black right eye flared with aggressiveness. "Get out!"
The room echoed with the young man’s delighted laughter and vile curses, a chaotic mess of sounds that soon gave way to frenzied screams—
"Louis, you madman!!!"
...
In the following days, the number of guards on Zero Star Street dwindled.
Just as Yusen had said, the Deep Sea Empire seemed to have truly halted the assassinations for the time being. The wooden house returned to its initial state of peace.
Yu Zhizhi woke up in her bed in the attic to find that the Mermaid who had been beside her was gone.
She groggily rubbed her eyes, and the System’s voice sounded by her ear—
[DING! Congratulations, Host. Pregnancy has been detected. Please focus on a safe gestation.]
The rabbit ears on Yu Zhizhi’s head suddenly twitched. She shot upright. "I’m pregnant?!"
[System: Yes.]
Yu Zhizhi: "A Mermaid Baby?"
[System: Of course. Although rabbits have two uteruses, you’ve only been with the Mermaid during this time, haven’t you?]
"That’s not what I meant..."
Yu Zhizhi’s face flushed slightly. She immediately threw off the covers and ran barefoot out of the attic.
As soon as she opened the door, she saw the Mermaid returning to the room with breakfast.
His eyes were calm. "You’re awake?"
"Sen... Sensen..." Perhaps because she was too excited, Yu Zhizhi stuttered a little.
Yusen watched the little female who couldn’t wait to find him the moment she woke up. He couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of his lips, and he waited patiently for her to finish her sentence, not rushing her.
Yu Zhizhi said in a tiny whisper, "I’m pregnant."
The smile on the Mermaid’s face froze.
"What?"
"It’s..."
Yu Zhizhi covered her lower abdomen with both hands, a little shy. "A Mermaid Baby."
Yusen’s breath hitched.
He hadn’t expected it to actually happen.
This meant—
The Mermaid’s expression became extremely unnatural. He seemed to instinctively want to pull away. He was panicking, but within the panic was a trace of excitement, even exhilaration.
His feelings were complicated.
These past few days, Yusen had to admit, he almost felt as if he had been living in a dream.
It was a feeling he had never experienced before.
All of it brought to him by the little female before him.
’In that case,’ he thought, ’it’s time to have a serious talk with this little rabbit.’
