CH 48

In the matter of raising a mermaid, the old dragonfish was very dedicated. In particular, when it came to food, if Yi Nuo ordered one dish, he would make the chef cook three or four similar dishes.

Anyway, he was retired now and had a lot of leisure time every day.

So, Yi Nuo ordered grilled squid whiskers, but what was served was the grilled + stir-fried, dry-stir-fried, spicy-fried… squid.

Yi Nuo couldn’t eat it all by himself, so he had to let the people around him sit down and eat together.

The sea people were very open-minded about eating seafood, and they also ate it themselves. After all, they lived in the deep sea all year round, and there was nothing else to eat except marine life.

But when Zhang Yu also ate two chopsticks of squid whiskers, Yi Nuo almost dropped his chopsticks in shock.

“How can you eat it?” Yi Nuo asked in surprise. He thought that Zhang Yu and these delicious little things… were the same thing. Weren’t they close relatives?

Zhang Yu paused and guessed what he was thinking. He could not help laughing and explained with a smile, “They are just ordinary marine creatures, different from our evolutionary species, we… are considered human beings, they count as just ordinary small sea creatures, even food.”

Yi Nuo “…” I was wondering why you didn’t care.

“Then can I order stir-fried octopus’ whiskers tomorrow…?” Yi Nuo tentatively asked.

Zhang Yu: “…”

“You can!” The old dragonfish’s mouth was full of oil. Hearing this, he immediately supported it.

He seldom ate cooked food. He never expected to be full of praise after trying it once because of His Royal Highness. The stir-fried squid was delicious, and the grilled one was also good. Chili and cumin were good things.

“I have eaten a small octopus before, but it sucks the tongue. I don’t know how it tastes fried. Is it as delicious as the squid?” The old dragonfish couldn’t help asking.

“Well, almost.” Yi Nuo laughed dryly.

Zhang Yu: “…” My mood is a little complicated.

Aside from being unable to contact the outside world, Yi Nuo’s life in the Sea Country was quite comfortable. If he weren’t worried about Yue Zhan, it was not an exaggeration to say that this was a vacation and raising a baby.

But no matter how comfortable Yi Nuo’s life was, his heart felt empty whenever he missed someone.

After less than two days of silence, Yi Nuo planned to go out of the Palace to explore the Underground City.

But before he could act, the old dragonfish and Zhang Yu came to discuss the matter of becoming King with him.

“Ascending the throne?” Yi Nuo was so surprised that he almost slid off his seat and said in disbelief, “Are you so casual about finding an heir?”

“It’s not casual, not casual.” The old dragonfish waved his hands straight after hearing this. Then he said, “You are the child of Princess Li Ya, a real royal mermaid. If you don’t inherit, who will?”

“But… I know nothing about the Sea Country, and you don’t know anything about me. Can inheriting the throne be so simple?” Yi Nuo was still shocked.

After hearing this, the old dragonfish said, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. You are a mermaid with an unlimited lifespan, you can slowly understand the Sea Country. As for why we choose you, of course, His Majesty the Sea King…”

“That’s right, I remember that His Majesty is still alive.” Yi Nuo hurriedly interrupted him, changing the topic, “and the Princess… Mother, I heard that she is also alive. The heir to the throne is something you have to consider carefully.”

He had no intention of living in the Sea Country permanently, let alone inherit the Sea King’s throne, which was too sudden.

The old dragonfish said, “This is the order left by His Majesty the Sea King.”

“But I heard that His Majesty the Sea King fell into eternal sleep a long time ago, so he probably shouldn’t know that I exist?” Yi Nuo asked, thinking to himself: do I look easy to deceive?

The old dragonfish shook his head, but nodded again, and said, “That’s true, but His Majesty left an order before falling into eternal sleep, which was to let the Princess inherit the throne, and if the Princess was unwilling, the Princess’s first child would inherit.”

Yi Nuo: “…” This uncle is quite far-sighted.

“Later, the Princess didn’t want to inherit the throne. To refuse this matter, she secretly left the Sea Country and went to the human country, where she met His Highness’s father.” The old dragonfish continued.

Yi Nuo couldn’t help whispering, “Wasn’t it to make a child?”

The old dragonfish and Zhang Yu, who had been standing beside him silently, suddenly coughed.

Yi Nuo looked at them innocently, “Could it be that I’m right?”

“Cough, the Princess’s original purpose was indeed this, which is also related to her desire to wake up His Majesty, but the Princess really loved your father…” the old dragonfish explained with a flushed face.

Yi Nuo found it a little strange and didn’t understand why he was blushing.

At this moment, Zhang Yu, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, “It is said that the mermaids of the Royal family will only conceive their partner’s child when they are in love with their partner.”

Yi Shocked Nuo: “?!” What did you say?

He was about to petrify, but before he did so, he turned his head and stammered, “You, are you sure?”

Zhang Yu glanced at his lower abdomen. Although he didn’t want to admit it, he still sighed and said, “Your mother was like this.”

Yi Nuo: “…” This is so… If he hadn’t confirmed that the book was fake, he would have suspected that this was the book’s setting, which was too outrageous.

Can little tadpoles also judge the question of true love or not? He didn’t even know… Cough, so, when he was in Desolate Star, he actually liked Yue Zhan?

Did he… like him so early? Yi Nuo was lost in thought.

The more he thought about it, the more Yi Nuo blushed, but when he thought that Yue Zhan was not by his side at the moment, he couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

Zhang Yu had a panoramic view of his expression and felt inexplicably melancholy in his heart. His Royal Highness was as dedicated as Princess Li Ya, and probably…won’t marry anyone else.

Alas, their Sea Royal Family is also really strange. They obviously have the natural conditions for having multiple lovers, but they are just seeds of infatuation.

The two did not continue to persuade Yi Nuo and left disappointed.

When the two arrived outside the Palace, the old dragonfish sighed, and said, “We have kept His Highness for so many days, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect.”

“If the heart is not here, how can someone be willing to stay?” Zhang Yu said absently.

He began to feel that he was wrong. If the little Highness had no emotional ties to the outside world, he might be willing to stay in the Sea Country, but if he had ties outside… it would be more difficult.

“But there is not much time left for us.” The old dragonfish was a little anxious, “The Imperial Fleet arrived at the Starfish Field a few days ago, and it has been searching for the former site of the Sea Country recently. If His Highness knows that we are hiding this matter, I’m afraid he will become more alienated from us.”

Zhang Yu also frowned. Although he didn’t believe that Yue Zhan could find a way to enter the Sea Country’s new site, he still felt uneasy that someone had been searching around his home.

“I don’t think there are many ships. The Empire should have no intention of starting a war, or… let them meet?” Zhang Yu hesitated.

Hearing this, the old dragonfish shook his head and said, “His Highness is unwilling to inherit the throne, but if he doesn’t do so, he can’t inherit His Majesty’s power. If you let them meet at this time, what should we do if he doesn’t want to come back in the future?”

“Moreover, His Majesty has no signs of waking up. To cope with future changes, we can only rely on His Highness. This is not only for the Sea Country but also for the other races in the interstellar worlds.”

Zhang Yu could understand the old commander’s worries. But when he saw Yi Nuo’s distraught appearance, he felt uncomfortable, so he couldn’t help suggesting, “Why don’t we tell His Highness the truth? Perhaps His Highness can understand. It’s not a solution to keep him trapped in the sea like this.”

The old dragonfish naturally considered it too, but he had deeper concerns.

The old dragonfish looked around and saw no one, so he got close to Zhang Yu, and whispered in his ear, “Do you know why Her Royal Highness changed her mind and canceled the succession ceremony?”

Zhang Yu shook his head.

The old dragonfish lowered his voice and said, “Because she found that once she fully inherits His Majesty’s power, His Majesty will die.”

Zhang Yu’s eyes were instantly filled with astonishment.

The old dragonfish patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, “So, I’m afraid that if His Highness finds out, he will be the same as the Princess.”

Zhang Yu knew about this for the first time and felt a bit heavy. He became like this after just hearing about it. If the little Highness inherits without knowing, wouldn’t he…

“I still feel it’s not good to hide it.” Zhang Yu shook his head and expressed his worries.

The old dragonfish was also worried, and when he heard what Zhang Yu said, he hesitated again.

“Moreover, this stalemate is not a solution. His Royal Highness obviously won’t be willing.” Zhang Yu added.

“This… I have to think about it again.” The old dragonfish hesitated, “The method you mentioned may be feasible, but I don’t know… whether these people from the Empire can be trusted.”

Zhang Yu thought for a while and said, “Let me go and test it out.”

“That’s fine too.” The old dragonfish nodded and said, “Be careful.”

The old turtle hadn’t been rescued yet, so he couldn’t let another one be captured.

After both of them left, Yi Nuo sneaked back to the Palace from behind the palace wall.

He didn’t actually hear much, and only guessed based on the sporadic words that there was an Imperial fleet arriving at the Starfish Field and Zhang Yu was going to explore.

As for the rest, their voices were too vague, and he couldn’t grasp the keywords, so he couldn’t guess.

But in his opinion, that was enough.

The Imperial Fleet was coming, and it must be Yue Zhan. Zhang Yu is going out, which means he can follow him out.

However, he was not stupid enough to follow him closely. To prevent being discovered, he only looked at the general direction from a distance and then retreated to the Palace vigilantly.

After another period of time, he shook off the Palace guards who were following him and swam in the direction where Zhang Yu had left.

At the former site of the Sea Country, the entire Imperial fleet landed here, and countless unmanned detectors flew out of the ship, searching day and night.

On the main command ship, Yue Zhan took out a photo, shook it at the national teacher, and said, “Do you know who he is?”

The national teacher’s mouth was particularly tight this time. After being interrogated for several days and nights, he didn’t reveal a word.

After hearing Yue Zhan’s words, he pretended not to hear and didn’t look at the picture.

But the guard next to him immediately pinched his chin and forced him to look up.

The photo showed a one-eyed middle-aged man. Seeing him, the national teacher’s pupils shrank indiscernibly.

Yue Zhan was clear and said calmly, “His name is Ke Man. He has a daughter who was once the marriage partner of His Majesty. Unfortunately, she died. Do you know how she died?”

The national teacher looked tense and didn’t make a sound.

Yue Zhan approached him suddenly, stared into his eyes, and said, “Princess Li Ya, who she wanted to assassinate, injured her seriously with an electric shock. She died because she was not rescued in time.”

After speaking, he retreated back and continued, “Thanks to her attack the plan was exposed, Li Ya escaped the pursuit of the ECO organization and was not arrested for research. So, do you know what the relationship between Ke Man and ECO is?”

Over the past few days, Yue Zhan has pried out some information from the attacker’s mouth.

“As a native of the Sea Country, how dare you cooperate with the core members of ECO? Could it be that you don’t know what this organization does?” Yue Zhan sneered.

The national teacher’s eyes were wide open, his teeth were clattering. He obviously didn’t know Ke Man’s real identity. He was only cooperating with some high-level officials of the Federation and Empire, but he never expected that there would be people from ECO among them.

“Your stupidity has exposed the identity of His Highness Yi Nuo. Don’t think that it’s okay if you hide His Highness in the Sea Country. If I can find out that you took His Highness away, can’t ECO also find out?”

“Do you think that if we can’t find the entrance to the Sea Country, His Highness will be safe? Do you really think His Highness will stay in the Sea Country at ease and won’t find a way to come out? If he comes out and the sea people don’t find out, you say, will he meet me first, or… the people from ECO hiding in some dark corner?”

When he finished saying the last sentence, Yue Zhan gritted his teeth tightly and stared at the national teacher.

The national teacher’s expression finally became uneasy. Of course, he was also afraid of the situation Yue Zhan said. However, the Sea Country had been hidden for more than 600 years. How could he tell outsiders how to enter the Sea Country?

Yue Zhan didn’t expect the old turtle to speak out. He looked coldly at the other party struggling and hesitating. As the other party’s energy was reaching its limit, he suddenly pointed to the map of the sea area and said, “Guess where His Highness will be caught by the ECO people?”

“Here?” He pointed to an area casually, carefully observing the changes in the national teacher’s expression.

Then he pointed: “Here?”

“Or maybe here?”

After some time, Yue Zhan suddenly got up, walked out, and said to the adjutant, “Let the armored soldiers stand by and prepare to disembark and search.”

The adjutant was taken aback for a moment, and said, “Did you get the position?”

Yue Zhan shook his head, but said, “There’s a general direction.”

As soon as Zhang Yu approached the fleet, he noticed that thousands of mechas suddenly left the ship and headed towards the new location of the Sea Country.

His heart suddenly tightened and he thought to himself: Oh no, could it be that Yue Zhan really found out?

Although there were thousands of mechas, when dispersed, they looked like solitary fish swimming in the vast ocean.

Yue Zhan personally piloted the mecha and commanded the search.

Although they had a general direction, they soon discovered that they were in a predicament. When searching in a certain area, no matter how far they go, they will eventually return to their previous position.

The Starfish Field’s deep sea was inherently mysterious, and many mech soldiers immediately became uneasy when they saw this.

“Don’t panic, it’s a magnetic field problem.” Yue Zhan said calmly.

In fact, when the Sea Country just disappeared, both the Empire and the Federation sent fleets to investigate, and they also encountered similar situations. In the end, they couldn’t explain it. They only said it was a magnetic field problem.

It was the first time for Yue Zhan to come here, but he immediately understood that it was not a magnetic field problem. But in order to stabilize the morale of the army, he could only pacify them first.

His face darkened and he knew that for safety’s sake, he should order to return at this time, but…

He closed his eyes and finally said, “Withdraw in an orderly manner.”

After saying that, he didn’t move, and looked ahead quietly.

He had a premonition that Yi Nuo must be in front, obviously only one step away, but why…he couldn’t get past?

The surrounding mecha quickly returned, soon leaving him alone.

“Major General, for safety’s sake, please return as soon as possible, and don’t be left alone.” The adjutant urged on the communication channel.

Yue Zhan finally took a deep look at the dark sea in front of him, and just as he was about to turn around with his mecha, he seemed to suddenly see a flash of blue light.

He turned around abruptly, but there was nothing.

Yue Zhan was stunned. He drove the mecha back and forth in this sea area with “magnetic field problems”. In his ears was the voice of the adjutant’s constant urging, but he didn’t seem to hear it and searched around persistently.

Just when his damaged mental strength began to feel faint and painful, he finally saw a beautiful little mermaid swimming in the dark sea.