ISWTDB Ch120.2

Chapter 120.2: The Intersteller Mermaid (1, 2, 3)

Just as he was lost in thought, a warm sensation gently touched his eyelids.

Seeing his beloved becoming more dazed after being kissed, Ying Zhao curved his lips and said with a gentle smile, “What’s wrong, darling? Are you so happy to come home with me that you’re stunned?”

Ying Zhao placed Cecil in the passenger seat, set the vehicle to autopilot, and quickly brought him a bag of nutritional liquid. Apologetically, he said, “Sorry, this is all there is in the car. Have some for now.”

The nutritional liquid didn’t taste great but was easily digestible and beneficial for the body, making it suitable for Cecil who had not eaten for a long time. Watching Cecil gulping it down, Ying Zhao blinked with a hint of soreness and thoughtfully covered him with a blanket.

After Cecil finished the nutritional liquid, Ying Zhao wiped his mouth and then gently caressed his beloved’s cheek, softly saying, “Darling, you are mine now. I will take good care of you from now on.”

After speaking, Ying Zhao carefully avoided the wounds on Cecil’s body and held him close. He began to softly kiss Cecil’s lips, which gradually evolved into a passionate deep kiss.

Ying Zhao had initially thought that he should not be so impetuous on their first meeting. However, he could not control his anxiety. Seeing his beloved so frail on their first encounter made him heartbroken.

Having just arrived in this world, he received an urgent report from Xiao Bai saying that the target was in danger and his physical condition was extremely weak, having reached a critical point.

This unprecedented sense of crisis made Ying Zhao quickly digest a part of the original host’s memories and followed Xiao Bai’s instructions to arrive here.

He remembered that when he arrived at the research institute, he clearly saw the man holding a syringe, seemingly intending to draw blood from Cecil. Given his beloved’s current physical condition, it was clear what might happen if he were subjected to blood extraction.

Fortunately, it was not too late! Although his beloved’s condition was already very poor, at least he was still alive and well beside him.

Feeling the genuine kiss from the other person, Cecil was completely stunned. He felt as if he was being melted by the kiss, his body entirely out of control.

Over the years, he had endured ridicule because of his appearance and body. Facing this sudden affection from someone, Cecil found it hard to believe.

Especially since the other person was so outstanding, his kiss was so fiery and sweet that it was almost addictive. Cecil felt he should be cautious—perhaps this person had some ulterior motive, after all, who would like such an ugly and flawed being as himself?

But seeing the person kissing him with flushed cheeks and obvious infatuation in his eyes, Cecil couldn’t help but hope. Perhaps this person really did like him, which is why he was kissing him so passionately.

Ying Zhao kissed his beloved urgently, wanting to calm his anxiety. However, as he was kissing, the person in his arms suddenly tilted and lost consciousness.

“Cecil!” Ying Zhao shouted anxiously, not expecting such an incident during a kiss, which made him momentarily flustered and at a loss.

While he was anxiously pacing like an ant on a hot pan, Xiao Bai quickly comforted Ying Zhao, “Host, the target is fine! He just fainted due to extreme weakness and recent emotional agitation.”

“…” Hearing Xiao Bai’s words, Ying Zhao chose to remain silent, feeling quite embarrassed. What to do when your beloved faints from a kiss at first meeting? Feeling inexplicably ashamed, online help needed!

Still worried about Cecil’s health, even though Xiao Bai had assured Ying Zhao that Cecil was truly fine, he was still not at ease.

When they got back to his home, Ying Zhao immediately called many doctors to diagnose Cecil’s condition. The conclusion was that Cecil was suffering from blood loss, malnutrition, and wound infections due to a poor living environment.

However, as long as the symptoms were treated promptly with medication and proper care, he would recover quickly, which finally relieved Ying Zhao.

Although the original host, Ying Xiao, had no interest in mermaids, fortunately, he lived in an apartment arranged by the military with the specifications of a general, so it was well-equipped, including facilities needed for mermaids and a large bathing pool.

Watching his beloved immersed in nutrient solution and falling into a deep sleep, Ying Zhao’s gaze softened. Gently stroking Cecil’s fiery red hair and smoothing his furrowed brow due to anxiety, he finally settled down to let Xiao Bai convey the world’s storyline to him.

This world was also a future interstellar world, but in this world, women had become extinct, and reproduction depended on mermaids.

However, natural mermaids were very rare and precious. Therefore, the research institute was established later, creating technology to modify mermaids. As long as humans volunteered, they could undergo modification at the research institute to become mermaids.

But since mermaids did not have legs and their bodies were much more fragile than humans, and they couldn’t leave water, there were many limitations. So only a few humans were willing to undergo modification. The protagonist in this small world, Bennett, was a modified mermaid.

Bennett was once the highly favored youngest son of the top-ranked Austin family in the Empire. However, he willingly became a modified mermaid because he fell in love with Ying Xiao, the son of the Ying family, Marshal Ying.

But after Bennett was modified into a mermaid, Ying Xiao regretted and refused to be with him. However, modification could not be reversed, and Bennett had to live as a mermaid for the rest of his life.

Although he was very sad, he did not become despondent. Bennett was unwilling to become someone else’s accessory, and by a chance, he discovered his special talent—his tail could actually transform back into human legs, allowing him to switch freely between the two forms.

With his stunning appearance and lively personality, he attracted the attention of Ya Heng, who was responsible for taking care of the mermaids. Ya Heng admired Bennett and, upon discovering his secret, actively helped him leave the research institute.

Fortunately, the matter of the protagonist being a modified mermaid had not been widely publicized, so with his family’s help, Bennett secretly returned to the Imperial Academy and began a new life.

No longer obsessed with Ying Xiao, Bennett met Prince Harrison, who was studying mecha engineering at the Imperial Academy. Due to his talent in mecha manufacturing, he became a recognized genius mecha engineer.

Because both of them were outstanding, they formed a team and completed various internship tasks assigned by the academy together. Over time, they fell in love and, after graduation, joined the military together.

In the military, they worked well together and achieved many victories. During a mission, Bennett and Harrison accidentally discovered evidence of the Ying family’s collusion with the Federation and ultimately thwarted the Ying family’s treasonous plans.

Unfortunately, Bennett was injured in the battle, revealing his identity as a mermaid. Fortunately, he was not rejected by others but was regarded as a hero of the Empire and a miracle of mermaids, admired by both humans and mermaids.

Even though Bennett’s injury was severe and his tail could no longer transform back into legs, making people feel very sorry, all members of the Ying family were imprisoned overnight, and the once-heroic family of the Empire became prisoners.

In the end, Bennett and Harrison married, and Harrison succeeded to the throne. The two lived happily together, and years later, they were still regarded as legends of the Empire.

But these were only the superficial truths. Seeing the entire storyline, Ying Zhao naturally knew that Bennett was actually a reincarnation.

Bennett had liked Ying Xiao since he was very young and had aggressively pursued him as he grew up. However, Ying Xiao did not like him and had always rejected Bennett.

However, as the most favored youngest son of the Austin family, Bennett was very willful. To make Ying Xiao accept him, he even underwent the modification surgery to become a mermaid, intending to force Ying Xiao to comply.

But this only made Ying Xiao reject him even more and directly tell Bennett that he did not like people who were too willful. Thus, the protagonist, now a mermaid, had to stay in the research institute, unwillingly waiting for Ying Xiao to change his mind.

In reality, Ying Xiao’s military achievements had long been sufficient to obtain a mermaid, but he only came to the research institute at the age of thirty, under family pressure, and still did not take Bennett but chose the most neglected and ugly mermaid, Cecil.

Ying Xiao was a general of the Empire, a hero in everyone’s eyes, and many mermaids wanted to be with him, but he chose the flawed and ugly Cecil, which Bennett could not accept.

But it was what it was; there was no point in staying at the research institute, so Bennett left with a Major General named Carl.

Carl treated Bennett well, but Bennett was not a complacent person; he always had Ying Xiao in his heart. After two years, he learned of Cecil’s death. Ying Xiao publicly declared he would not choose any more mermaids and planned to live his life alone.

This undoubtedly stimulated Bennett. He felt he had lost his future and love and could only become someone else’s accessory. Yet Ying Xiao would still stay alone, Bennett insisted that his current situation was all Ying Xiao’s fault and developed a desire for revenge.

Carl was a Major General under Ying Xiao and knew many military secrets. So when Carl’s deputy, the Federation spy Richard, seduced Bennett, he did not hesitate to be with him.

He also gave Richard the military intelligence of the battle Ying Xiao was commanding, intending to cause Ying Xiao’s defeat. However, they were discovered, and their plot was thwarted.

Bennett was taken away and ultimately sentenced for treason. Since mermaids could not be executed, Bennett was reduced to a breeding machine and soon died in the research institute.

However, he was reborn after his death, but when he was reborn, he had already become a mermaid. At this time, Bennett became vicious towards Ying Xiao and even resented Cecil, jealous of Ying Xiao’s decision to stay alone.

Bennett vowed to take revenge on everyone related to Ying Xiao. He knew that although he was a modified mermaid, he was even more beautiful than natural mermaids. So, he used this to seduce Ya Heng, the staff member who took care of them.

He also told Ya Heng that he despised Cecil and spread rumors that Cecil frequently bullied him. He incited Ya Heng to deliberately make things difficult for Cecil, causing him to suffer from malnutrition and deteriorating health.

By accident, Bennett scratched Cecil’s skin, and the blood splattered onto him. During the night, he experienced an indescribable heat, and his tail transformed back into human legs.

This surprised Bennett greatly, but the change did not last long. Later, Bennett took the opportunity to injure Cecil again, confirming his hypothesis.

He secretly told Ya Heng and asked for his help. Ya Heng, being infatuated with Bennett, deliberately misdiagnosed Cecil’s malnutrition as a serious illness and transferred him to a separate treatment pool.

Ya Heng tried various methods to obtain Cecil’s blood to please Bennett. Cecil was already weak and poorly cared for. After another large blood draw, he eventually died in the murky pool.

Thinking that if he had not arrived in time, his beloved would have been subjected to more blood extraction today, and death might have awaited him, Ying Zhao felt a murderous impulse.

He suddenly felt that merely crushing the other’s leg bones and genitals was too light. Although Ya Heng would definitely not live under his orders, Ying Zhao still felt that his anger was not yet assuaged.

Taking a few deep breaths, he managed to calm his anger. He felt that the protagonist of this world was truly a complete fool, blaming others for all the tragedies caused by his own selfishness and capriciousness.

As for Bennett quickly getting involved with Prince Harrison after regaining his legs, it was merely because Harrison knew Bennett was from the Austin family and was willing to befriend him.

The Empire had always been wary of the Ying family’s control over the military, so when Harrison realized Bennett harbored resentment towards Ying Xiao, the two quickly became allies.

Due to his memories from before his rebirth, Bennett knew that Richard was a Federation spy. So, while taking revenge on Richard, he also fabricated false evidence, directing everything towards Ying Xiao and framing the Ying family.

“These two conniving individuals are quite a match,” Ying Zhao couldn’t help but sneer, but he didn’t believe that there was any true love between them, only mutual benefits.

Ying Zhao’s identity in this world was precisely the general Ying Xiao, whom Bennett had always been infatuated with but could not obtain.

In truth, Ying Xiao had never had any ambiguous feelings towards Bennett. The so-called affection they once had was nothing more than Bennett’s delusion.

The original Ying Xiao was actually a pure bottom, so he could never be interested in the beautiful and delicate Bennett, nor did he like mermaids.

However, as the Empire’s general and the only son of Marshal Ying, he had to maintain a strong image for his family in front of everyone.

He was seen as an undefeated war god, a combat genius with a 3S physique, so he could not reveal his emotional expectations and had to live his life according to everyone’s expectations.

Therefore, despite his unwillingness, he still went to the research institute at the age of thirty when he reached the suitable age. Among the many weak and beautiful mermaids, he chose the relatively acceptable Cecil and took him away.

In the timeline where Bennett did not reincarnate, Ying Xiao and Cecil always treated each other with respect and never really happened anything. Moreover, Cecil passed away two years later.

Ying Xiao, whose romantic journey was unsuccessful, focused all his energy on the battlefield. He eventually became the Marshal of the Empire, hailed as the Empire’s blade. However, he was not happy and spent his life in solitude.

“So, what is Ying Xiao’s wish?” Ying Zhao asked Xiao Bai while fiddling with his lover’s hair, his tone casual.

Xiao Bai briefly searched the system and answered with a smile, “Ying Xiao has two wishes. The first is to prevent the Ying family from being framed and preserve its reputation. The second wish is that if he could live again, he wants to be himself. He has dedicated his life to the Empire but lived in loneliness. So he deeply hopes to have a tall and strong partner, to escape his virgin status, and to let everyone know he is happy and sweet, and then live a loving life with his partner.”

“Pfft!” Ying Zhao burst out laughing at the original host’s wish. He cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.

Patting his slightly flushed cheeks, he wondered why he felt so inexplicably embarrassed!

But looking down at his beloved’s sharp features, this second wish seemed quite easy to fulfill!

While lost in thought, he heard a soft hum. The long eyelashes of the person fluttered a few times, and those dark red eyes slowly opened.

Seeing this, Ying Zhao quickly moved closer and softly asked, “Cecil, you’re awake! Are you okay? Is there anything uncomfortable?”

Cecil shook his head slightly, then noticed he was half-leaning in someone’s embrace. The surroundings were unfamiliar, but the decor was simple and elegant. The pool seemed to contain nutrient solution, making his body feel very relaxed.

The person beside him was wearing the same clothes as when they first met, only without the outer jacket. They had entered the pool holding him, which made it obvious that this gesture, and not changing clothes, was because of him.

A warmth flowed through Cecil’s heart. He pressed his lips together and softly expressed his gratitude, “I’m fine, thank you, General Ying.”

“You actually know who I am!” Ying Zhao revealed a surprised expression and then leaned in to kiss Cecil’s cheek. He cheerfully said, “But darling, I think you shouldn’t call me General Ying; it feels too formal.”

Cecil now roughly understood his situation, but he showed no sign of rejection. Being taken away by such a person was his fortune.

It must be said that Cecil harbored deep affection for Ying Zhao and naturally hoped to align with his wishes. Thus, he asked willingly, “Then, what should I call you?”

Ying Zhao looked at Cecil with a teasing smile and leaned closer to his ear, whispering, “My name is Ying Xiao, so you can call me by my name. But I would prefer you to call me darling or baby.”

As Ying Zhao spoke, he licked the fish fin-shaped ear of Cecil, causing the person in his arms to shiver slightly.

Cecil enjoyed Ying Zhao’s intimacy. Although he felt that he might have been teased by what was said, it unexpectedly warmed his heart.

Looking at Ying Zhao’s bright eyes, it was hard to imagine that the stern and aloof war god he had seen in the videos would have such a passionate side. He gently lifted his hand, as if wanting to touch Ying Zhao’s dark eyes.