CH 47

“Then it seems that what happened today was indeed a misunderstanding.”

After receiving the inspection report provided by the detector, they saw Clarice walk to the mermaid with a normal expression, and the little mermaid also didn’t show any sign of rejection or fear. Even if they still had doubts in their hearts, they had to admit that they had really made a mistake this time.

After the anger faded away, and then facing the smile that was not a smile on Clarice’s face, a few drops of cold sweat gradually appeared on the foreheads of these people. The elderly man standing at the front quickly took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead. Before Clarice could speak, he began to cough uncontrollably.

The hoarseness of his voice made Ji Mingjiang feel that dust was flying everywhere in Clarice’s bedroom.

“Your Majesty, don’t blame them. After receiving a large number of reports and complaints, we are also anxious. Of course, we believe in Your Majesty’s character, but we are worried that you are used to being alone, and sometimes you will inevitably neglect the mermaid.”

While explaining, the old man threw down his crutches and tremblingly wanted to bow and apologize to Clarice.

Then, before his waist was bent down, the crutch that had just been tilted thirty degrees to the ground was put back into his hand, and when he looked up again, a pair of sharp golden eyes seemed to have seen through all his thoughts.

“I understand, Mr. Reid; there is no need to be polite.” Leiden held his arm and handed him over to the young man, who was bluffing just now with a slightly forceful gesture. He turned his head and nodded gently to the guards who had already arrived at the door: “Send these gentlemen and ladies out, make sure they are all on the hover car, and come back.”

Hearing the instructions, the two guards at the door came over with a solemn expression, and after saluting Clarice, they stretched out their hands to the leader, Reid, and said, “Please.”

Ji Mingjiang looked at the scene in front of him calmly, without expressing anything.

Without the trust and reliance of the mermaid and without finding the fault of Clarice, the large group of people from the protection center obediently followed the lead of the guards and left the palace. As they left, someone at the end of the crowd quickly whispered a series of numbers in Ji Mingjiang’s ear while Clarice was not paying attention.

After everyone left, Lin Feng slowly pulled his instrument out before closing the door.

The cleaning robot nestled in the corner buzzed into operation, and the wide open window brought the fresh and cool autumn breeze outside. Ji Mingjiang helped to put away the wind-blown curtains while asking, “1638494, what does this string of numbers mean?”

That’s what the man told him just now.

“You can store the contact information of the primary beastmen protection center in your contacts.” Seeing Ji Mingjiang’s nose wrinkle when he heard the name, Leiden smiled, and the faint depression in his heart dissipated instantly. “Although they appear to be unreliable this time, if you really need help and I’m not by your side, you can still contact them.”

He actually doesn’t have much dislike for or a grudge against this organization. After all, the original intention was good. Although the current composition is a bit complicated, it’s precisely because of these twists and turns that they won’t be so stupid as to directly attack Ji Mingjiang.

In the worst-case scenario, if they really want to do something, it’s uncertain who will beat who.

“Fine.”

Seeing Clarice’s indifferent attitude, Ji Mingjiang thought for a moment and still stored this contact information in his mind. By the way, he also followed the official blog of the protection center on Starnet.

Then, when he exited, he saw the topic that ranked first in the discussion: #Clarice Mermaid#

Although he knew that people were probably discussing his live broadcast and the unexpected situation just now, Ji Mingjiang couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

With this hashtag, those who didn’t know the situation might think that Clarice had mutated a second time in the direction of a mermaid, and that would be a medical miracle.

He can probably guess what’s going on under this topic, and it’s nothing more than arguing about whether Clarice abused him. This kind of matter will soon pass when it’s clarified in tomorrow’s live broadcast.

Not taking this matter to heart at all, Ji Mingjiang directly quit the Starnet. His fish tail swaying briskly behind him: “What are we having for lunch today?”

“Ah… Boss, you are here.”

In the afternoon, when Ji Mingjiang came to the mecha hall again with his cloak on, he saw a dejected and listless Bernie for the first time.

“What’s the matter?” Ji Mingjiang paused on his way to the mech hall, changed direction decisively, and sat next to Bernie.

Just kidding, the mecha competition can be played at any time, but a listless Bernie isn’t something you can see every day.

“I seem to have gotten into a big disaster.” Bernie put an arm over his eyes, his tone erratic.

After feeling that someone was sitting next to him, he directly babbled about what he did today, including but not limited to “Reporting His Majesty Clarice for ignoring and abusing a mermaid”, “Leading the barrages to say that the match of the little mermaid is not responsible, “and a series of other actions.

Bernie, who was completely immersed in his own world, didn’t notice that the person next to him hummed reflexively when he heard the name “Ji Mingjiang”.

“…what to do, what to do? His Majesty should go to the Ministry of Finance to continue to inspect the work. My brother won’t be implicated by me, right? QAQ”

Speaking of this, the arm that had been blocking his eyes fell down weakly, and only then did Ji Mingjiang realize that Bernie Lavender’s eyes had turned red at some point, although they were only a little reddish.

Ji Mingjiang’s eyes, hidden under the hood, were full of shock. He hadn’t faced this kind of scene for eight hundred years. Someone actually cried in front of him.

“I think you’re…” Ji Mingjiang adjusted his wording and said implicitly, “You’re overthinking it.”

“I think that even if His Majesty really feels offended by you, he won’t care about minors, let alone bring his personal emotions to work, which is very irresponsible for a national leader.”

And he, including those people who felt that Clarice could not take care of him well, never felt that Clarice was an irresponsible emperor.

Ji Mingjiang glanced at Bernie, who was somewhat rejuvenated. Clarice’s focus was obviously on the primary beastmen protection center. To put it mildly, there were many people who reported him at the time, and Bernie really wasn’t anything.

But thinking of the terrible live broadcast experience today, Ji Mingjiang patted Bernie on the shoulder and decided to find the answer from his friend, who has high surfing intensity.

“I also watched the live broadcast you mentioned. I feel that the mermaid is in good condition. Why do you all think he was abused?”

“It’s not abuse; it’s neglect.” Bernie now jolted at the word, and he hastily corrected it with a straight face and seriousness.

Looking at the big boss, whose black hood seemed to be welded into his body, Bernie strangely understood the emotion of doubt contained in it. He suppressed his inexplicable thoughts and carefully explained them to this big guy who may not understand mermaids.

“A mermaid is a beautiful and lovely creature, but delicate and fragile.” Bernie, who has always aspired to have a little mermaid of his own, can be described as eloquent when talking about his knowledge of mermaids.

The real mermaid Ji Mingjiang was shocked when he heard this sentence, and then tried his best to calm down his dissatisfaction, which caused a tsunami in his spiritual sea, and listened very humbly and studiously.

“Their hearts are very fragile and require meticulous care and companionship from someone. In addition to that, the government encourages mermaids’ live broadcasts in general in order to allow more beastmen to receive spiritual counseling from mermaids, but—!”

Bernie’s tone suddenly increased, and he said viciously: Something very bad happened before. A group of social scum and people lurking from the Federation will mix with the audience watching the live broadcast, deliberately disrespecting the mermaids’ appearance, voice, spiritual counseling ability, and even their living environment. Then they watch as the mermaids collapse and faint before leaving.”

“So in order to prevent this kind of thing from happening again, the mermaid precautions received by each mermaid match will emphasize that during the live broadcast, the match must stay with the mermaid and always observe the barrage situation and the mermaid’s mood.”

At the end, Bernie leaned back on the chair, depressed and aggrieved. “So, His Majesty obviously didn’t abide by the regulations in the precautions. If it were me, it would definitely not be like this.”

“Then you directly report him for abusing the mermaid.” Ji Mingjiang took his aggrieved look into his eyes and then, as the fish in question, very ungratefully pointed out the inappropriate part of his behavior.

And listening to his meaning, Ji Mingjiang gave him a suspicious look.

This kid won’t be waiting to match with him again after reporting Clarice and waiting for him to be disqualified, right?

He was even more determined to hide his identity.

“Mental abuse is also abuse.” Bernie didn’t know that his thoughts had been completely exposed and was weakly defending himself. “The other live broadcast rooms are all matches and little mermaids interacting in the same frame. Only Jiang Jiang is a lonely fish, so it’s normal for me to have such thoughts.”

Jiangjiang?

Ji Mingjiang shivered uncomfortably, feeling a chill. He thought nicknames such as beautiful fish and little baby were already cringe-worthy enough, but he didn’t expect his own name to be so lethal.

“Okay, if you’re so worried, you can go to tomorrow’s live broadcast.” After solving his doubts, he also advertised his live broadcast room. Ji Mingjiang stood up and walked towards the mech hall. He is currently busy making his way to the top 100 on the thousand-person list, so he has no time to chat with Bernie here.

“Yu Quanquan!” As soon as he reached the hall, Ji Mingjiang heard someone behind him shouting an unfamiliar name and running towards him quickly.

“?”

Recognizing the wrong person?

Ji Mingjiang turned around suspiciously, and then an arm grumpily rested on his shoulder.

He followed the arm to look at the person’s face.

Okay, he didn’t admit the wrong person.

“What the hell is Yu Quanquan?” Seeing Lin Nan’s smug face, Ji Mingjiang endured and endured, but still couldn’t help complaining.

“Your ID.” Lin Nan said as a matter of course, “You didn’t tell me your name; your ID is just an emoji; of course I can only give you a name based on that emoji.”

Then you are a genius.

Ji Mingjiang glanced at him, patted his hand, and strode forward.

After sitting in the cockpit of the mecha, the familiar system sound came.

[Player/eh564e, welcome back. You are currently at an advanced field level, and your ranking on the Thousand Player List is 478. Do you want to challenge? ]

Ji Mingjiang checked the Thousand Player List and regrettably found that the only two people in the entire list who were in the top position and displayed as online were him and Lin Nan.

He was a little speechless when he saw this. The sound of the system, accompanied by a pop-up window, appeared in the cockpit.

[Player/eh564e, Player Come And Hit Me has challenged you. You have ten seconds to decide.]

Ji Mingjiang, who had no other choice, pressed the confirmation button without hesitation, and the scene changed in the next second. This time, the two were assigned to the cosmic battlefield.

The loudspeaker in the cabin turned on, and Lin Nan’s distorted voice came from inside: “You are lucky, Yu Quanquan. This scene is similar to the last one, both of which have interferers present. Want to compete again?”

He said it politely, but through the loudspeaker, Ji Mingjiang had already heard the sound of the laser cannon firing from the opposite side.

Silently aiming at the starship painted with the Star Pirates logo not far away, Ji Mingjiang did not speak but chose to respond with the same loud bombing sound.

This time the map was much bigger than last time, and meteorites kept falling. Ji Mingjiang sighed as he watched his own actions of firing one starship after another and punching one meteorite after another.

“What’s wrong? You got hit?” A gloating voice quickly came out of the loudspeaker.

“No.” Ji Mingjiang smashed a starship expressionlessly in response: “I was just thinking about how to prove myself if people always misjudged me in terms of power and treated me as a young flower-like existence.”

“Ah?” Lin Nan’s voice was full of disbelief.

“Can you still be regarded as that kind of creature?”

“It’s easy. You just need to throw your ranking on the thousand people list and the battle video on those people’s faces.” He gave his own advice with experience.

Ji Mingjiang nodded thoughtfully. The battle video cannot be released, but with Clarice’s cooperation, it’s not impossible to solve this.

It happened to check the box for the mermaid precautions.

At the end of a match, the entire map was bombarded by the two of them, and there was mechanical wreckage and meteorite fragments everywhere. It was as if they were in a waste manufacturing factory.

“Sure enough, it’s more enjoyable to fight with you.”

Before the two were ejected during the system settlement period, Lin Nan said with emotion, “The roommate of mine that I mentioned to you before, he will be online in a while. Shall we wait for him to play another game?”

Ji Mingjiang accepted the proposal without much hesitation. If it’s someone who could make Lin Nan talk about him every day, he’s sure this roommate isn’t much worse.

“There should be a multiplayer map here; just play 1v2 later.”

A flat voice came from the loudspeaker. Lin Nan raised his eyebrows. “Are we 2?”

“What are you thinking?” Ji Mingjiang’s tone was somewhat puzzled and reasonable: “Of course you and your roommate are 2.”

“Too confident, I say!” Lin Nan, who felt that both he and Zhuang Zhiye had been underestimated, yelled out in dissatisfaction, but before he could finish speaking, he was thrown back into the mecha hall by the system that had calculated the results.

[Player Come And Hit Me lost in the battle with player/eh564e and now ranks 578 on the thousand player list, with 2,739 Advanced Field wins and an 81% win rate.]

[Reminder: when the winning rate is below 80%, the player will be automatically downgraded to the intermediate field and will not be able to participate in the thousand-player ranking.]

“…”

The objective, neutral, cold, and merciless system broadcast sounded as if it corresponded exactly to the dissatisfaction he had just expressed, slapping his face with a splintering sound.

“Ah! Yu Quanquan!” Lin Nan’s cheeks were covered with a thin layer of redness as he buried his face into his hands and shouted through clenched teeth.

His win rate! He had a solid win rate of over 95%! It was all beaten down by Yu Quanquan!

Without wallowing in irritation for too long, after seeing Zhuang Zhiye’s ID showing green online status, Lin Nan sat up straight with a jerk, found the multiplayer match mode, created the room, and pulled the two remaining people in.

[Player Come And Hit Me invites you to enter multiplayer match room number 001. Do you accept? ]

Ji Mingjiang glanced at the thousand player list and quickly noticed the differences from the list just now. A green light lit up next to an ID called “I’m coming.”

“Come and hit me.”

“I’m coming”

Ji Mingjiang’s complexion was a bit strange. With the IDs of these two people, should he say that they are worthy of being roommates?

And judging from the appearance of these two people, won’t they really go from 1v2 to 1v1v1?

The countdown was about to end. Ji Mingjiang didn’t complain any more and clicked the button to accept the invitation.

As soon as his mental power sensed his surroundings, Ji Mingjiang quickly rolled on the spot, raised the mechanical arm equipped with a laser cannon, and aimed at the interferer that just attacked him.

The moment he saw the other party’s appearance clearly, Ji Mingjiang’s pupils trembled a few times.

So ugly!

After the shot was missed, the large lizard with a circle of gray-green tumors on its body did not retreat. Instead, it was provoked by the danger close at hand, quickly grabbed the tree trunk, and rushed towards Ji Mingjiang, during which it kept hitting the mech’s surroundings with its tongue, and the saliva dripping from its tongue eroded a pit on the ground.

Ji Mingjiang maneuvered the mecha to leap backwards and fired a laser aimed at the lizard’s cold, lurid yellow-green eyes just as he was about to be swept up by the tongue.

The tongue and its owner fell helplessly to the ground, and Ji Mingjiang was relieved when he uneasily added another shot.

Then he silently adjusted his evaluation of this thing. It was ugly and disgusting.

“Yu Quanquan, are you still alive?”

Not long after the battle ended, Lin Nan’s voice came out of the loudspeaker again. Ji Mingjiang responded and couldn’t help complaining: “What kind of scene did you draw? These things are disgusting.”

“Is it disgusting?” Lin Nan, who has been very interested in aliens since childhood, didn’t care and even planned to turn around and encourage him to come into contact with more new things.

“Really, Lin Nan?” A clear voice interrupted his heartfelt recommendation, and Zhuang Zhiye’s sincere voice sounded through the loudspeakers on both sides: “It’s disgusting.”

“? Zhuang Zhiye, do you still remember that the two of us are on the same team?” Lin Nan quickly shifted his spear and aimed it at his teammate when he heard a hint of laughter besides Zhuang Zhiye’s voice.

Sure enough, it has become 1v1v1…

Listening to the quarrel between the two, Ji Mingjiang silently raised his arm and knocked down a snake that was about to spray venom at him with its mouth wide open.

What energetic military students.

“Click.”

A soft unlocking sound rang out in the silent basement, and a bright ray of light peeked in along the open doorway but was quickly swallowed by the dense darkness.

Neither the sound of the lock nor the sound of approaching footsteps made Kiro raise his eyelids. He still maintained the posture where his upper body was handcuffed by the edge of the pool. His weak breathing made his chest and spine seem to have little rise and fall, like an elderly man rather than a merman in his early twenties.

The footsteps stopped in front of him, and the shadow in front of Kiro’s eyes became thicker for a moment and then suddenly lit up again. Even without opening his eyes, he could imagine a series of actions by the other party.

Open the door, lock it, walk up to him and squat down, turn on the floor lamp by the pool, and…

“Clatter—”

The visitor very roughly grabbed the mermaid’s increasingly withered hair, forcing him to lift his head. Under the severe pain, the fish’s tail began to flick like a conditioned reflex, slapping the water surface. The wounds that weren’t completely healed began to ooze blood again.

“What are you doing here again? The Orfield family is about to collapse; is that why you have so much free time every day to exchange feelings with a mermaid?”

The tearing sensation from the scalp and the pain caused by the violent swing of the fish tail did not reflect on Kiro’s face at all. He still had a calm and mocking look; his eyelids opened for a moment, and his light and ethereal gaze swept over Bisnar Orfield’s body before quickly closing.

It seemed that what was in front of him was not the enemy who had tortured him for several years, but just a mosquito that was somewhat annoying, but not worth the effort to repel.

Since knowing the real identity of this person a few days ago, Kiro has maintained this half-dead state.

The Orfield family, an old noble family that has existed since the establishment of the empire and holds real power, has its roots deep in the soil.

He could tell from this person’s attitude towards him in recent years that even if Leiden didn’t know he was imprisoned by the Orfield family, out of consideration for centralizing power and rectifying the political ecology, he must secretly compete with the Orfield family.

So now all he needs to do is not provide any help to this disgusting family. He still trusts his brother’s ironclad skills. These Empire’s moths and human scumbags will sooner or later pay the price for their crimes.

“Ah.”

Seeing his refusal to cooperate, Bisnar didn’t force it and let go of his hand, allowing the mermaid’s forehead to hit the floor tiles heavily. A few strands of withered hair fell on the blood oozing beside him.

“How embarrassing, Your Highness Kiro.”

Bisnar stood up, looked down at the motionless mermaid, and continued on his own: “Do you know? Originally in my plan, Clarice would soon die in his increasingly frequent mental riots. At that time, the Orfeild family will take over the empire from this tyrant, and you will also get the freedom you want at that time.”

“I didn’t expect he would actually find a mermaid who could tolerate his contact, and his mental state seems to be much better than before.”

When he was suddenly called to the palace by Clarice two days ago, he saw the silver-haired and blue-tailed mermaid in the study, but the estranged behaviors of the two did not make him too alert to the matter.

Without the live stream of that mermaid today…..

Bisnar sneered. He almost ignored this variable because he was busy.

Having said that, looking at the mermaid whose breathing was obviously stagnant, he said in a tone of pity, “However, what can be changed by having a mermaid? Our esteemed Lord Clarice will just lose faster in the battle of public opinion.”

Bisner made this trip as if he had come specifically to announce to Kiro that Clarice’s death was approaching.

Afterward, Kiro felt the faint lights around him disappear again, followed by the sound of footsteps gradually moving away and Bisnar’s malicious words at the door.

“By the way, Your Highness Kiro, you must be very lonely here by yourselves. I will bring you a new friend as soon as possible. Maybe then you can exchange information about Clarice as a remembrance hahahahaha.”

Hearing these words, Kiro suddenly looked up in the direction of the door, but only had time to see Bisnar’s figure disappearing into the light and the door closing again.

He flicked his tail violently, unconsciously biting the inside of his mouth with his sharp teeth, and only after a smell of blood spread through his empty cavity did he come back to his senses.

Although he kept telling himself that the current tight guard of the palace was far from the turbulent and chaotic order when he was kidnapped, Kiro still couldn’t erase the worry in his heart.

Leiden…you must protect your mermaid.

“boom!”

Ji Mingjiang slammed a crocodile onto the tree trunk, and the tree trunk cracked, bringing the fainted crocodile to the ground.

“65.”

Ji Mingjiang turned on the loudspeaker, breathed steadily, and reported his latest data.

“33. Didn’t I just say, you, you, are too abnormal…” Lin Nan’s heavy panting sound came. Even while gasping for breath, the shocking accusation in his words was still clearly conveyed.

“28.” Zhuang Zhiye’s voice followed closely behind. The amount he disposed of was not too much. Although he sounded a little tired, it was much better compared to Lin Nan, who was almost out of breath.

“Can this be my fault? I also want to know why there are so many disruptors on this map. Is this a characteristic of multiplayer maps?”

Ji Mingjiang found a relatively empty place and asked after a short rest.

The problem they discovered after walking around the scene for a while was that the map was surprisingly large.

The battle scene in the tropical rainforest, with its scattered tall trees and some low but ubiquitous understory, was enough to make people dizzy, not to mention that their respective positions had not been marked on their maps.

Not to mention 1v2 or 1v1v1, they did not even find the opportunity to v, and they would encounter all kinds of disruptors who actively attacked them in the middle.

Ji Mingjiang himself has already encountered a series of animals that he has never seen in real life, including but not limited to giant lizards, anacondas, pythons, crocodiles, highly toxic and large dart frogs, poisonous snakes perfectly hidden in the tree canopy, etc., all of which have undergone twisted mutations.

The other two were no exception.

So after a brief exchange over the loudspeaker, the three changed the contest to see who ended up killing more disruptors.

The result was obvious. The number of killings by the other two people combined wasn’t as high as Ji Mingjiang alone, not to mention that Ji Mingjiang’s physical condition was much better than the two of them. He sounds like he can kill another 65 disruptors.

“No more fighting, no more fighting; I admit defeat!”

Lin Nan responded first.

Are you kidding? He asked Yu Quanquan for a match to hone his skills and boost his self-esteem. Although he can exercise his reaction speed by spending time in this scene, it’s obviously impossible to practice fighting with animals.

And… Even if he didn’t mind aliens before, when something pops up from time to time looking at you with drooling saliva, who can stand it!

“I also admit defeat.”

Zhuang Zhiye was also straightforward. He didn’t want to stay here any longer.

After the two withdrew one after another, Ji Mingjiang only waited for a few seconds before returning to the mecha hall.

Walking out of the cockpit, he saw Lin Nan walking towards him with another person, shoulder to shoulder.

“Zhuang Zhiye?”

Ji Mingjiang raised his head slightly, looking at the boy with cool short hair and a calm expression.

After seeing the other party nod, his eyes drifted back to Lin Nan, who was hitching on someone’s shoulders with an exaggerated expression while complaining about him.

The relationship between these two people is that of roommates…then it almost turned into a 1v1v1 fight at the beginning, which is really very reasonable.