The little black bean, with its mouth being held, clawed at the ground, digging a small pit.
It ultimately couldn't utter a word.
“Boss, what are you doing?”
After being released, Hei Dou glared with its round eyes and questioned.
“You have the audacity to ask me? What were you trying to ask just now?” Chen Yu glared. Hei Dou blinked and said, “I was just asking how mermaids reproduce, is there a problem?”
“Are you a cat too?” Chen Yu rebuked angrily.
No wonder it was carrying a box and running around everywhere.
This wasn't a proper cat either.
Asking such a question, wanting to know how mermaids mate.
Was it courting death?
“What’s the big deal? As they say, a clear conscience fears no wrong. Some people speak their minds and their hearts are pure, while some keep their thoughts hidden and their hearts are dirty.” Hei Dou began spewing out fallacies.
Chen Yu blinked and pressed down on Hei Dou’s head.
“Who are you slandering? Who are you alluding to?”
“Brother, brother, don't choke me!” Hei Dou started kicking its legs again and said, “I wasn’t alluding to you, I just meant you’ve truly misunderstood me.”
“Heh…”
Chen Yu curled his lips. Hei Dou helplessly spread its paws.
“Then what should we be asking?”
“Watch me!”
Chen Yu placed one hand on his hip, telling Hei Dou to watch and learn.
“Ilia.”
“Hmm?”
“Ilia. How does your mermaid tribe conceive the next generation? Through what means do you start?” Chen Yu asked.
Hei Dou, with its mouth held, looked up at Chen Yu.
“Why are you looking at me?” Chen Yu frowned. Hei Dou stared blankly at him, “What makes you stronger than me? This is just the same thing!”
“This is where you’re mistaken.”
Chen Yu raised a finger and shook his head.
“Your question and mine are like heaven and earth. I’m asking with an unending spirit of exploration of life. Isn’t this just academic knowledge? Yours, on the other hand, is purely malicious harassment.”
Hei Dou: “???”
So improper.
What makes you any better than me?
The mermaid girl’s cheeks suddenly turned red, like a ripe apple.
“This… is this question…”
“Is what!”
Hei Dou shot out like a dart, a wicked smile on its little mouth.
“Little sister, although my big brother is dressed in the guise of an academic expert, he’s actually a madman living on the edge of danger. If I don’t watch out, he might just take off your shell and conduct violent research!”
“I don’t know.”
The mermaid girl puffed out her cheeks and lowered her head.
“I’m very stupid.”
Huh?
Chen Yu and the black cat were stunned.
The black cat, which had been circling the mermaid girl, also zipped back.
“I really don’t know.”
“Then why was your face so red if you don’t know?” Chen Yu asked, puzzled.
The mermaid girl drooped her head, “You asked me questions, and I didn’t know, doesn’t that make me seem ignorant? We mermaids are symbols of wisdom, but I don’t know anything. I’m the stupidest in the tribe.”
This was shame born of ignorance.
Hiss!
Chen Yu couldn’t help but recall his past.
If he had had such a strong sense of self-esteem as the mermaid girl, he probably wouldn’t have survived until now.
Looking back at the past.
He seemed to have stumbled through life in ignorance.
His mind was empty, filled only with food.
“What you’re holding…”
Chen Yu gestured towards the roast meat.
The mermaid girl blinked, and then a smile bloomed on her face as she extended her hand towards Chen Yu.
“It smells delicious, do you want some?”
Hey!
Don’t be so innocent!
I really can’t handle it.
Chen Yu, who aspired to be a heartless slave owner, was being melted by the mermaid girl before him.
So pure!
This purity made him unable to bear hurting her from the bottom of his heart.
“So cute, I want to take a bite.” Hei Dou grinned foolishly, drooling from its mouth. “I really want to dote on her.”
Bang.
Chen Yu kicked Hei Dou.
Kicked, Hei Dou instantly came to its senses.
“Hmph!”
After hmph-ing for a while, Hei Dou, pointing at Ilia, couldn’t say anything. It looked up at Chen Yu and shook its head righteously.
“Boss, I’m sorry, I can’t act against my conscience. I’m a cat with a kind heart, you can’t coerce me into doing unjust deeds with you. Boss, give it up!”
What the heck?
Chen Yu’s eyes widened. The black cat shot into the mermaid girl’s arms.
“Sister, I want to go with you.”
“You can’t go with me, I live in the sea,” the mermaid girl whispered gently. The black cat’s little head kept nuzzling against the mermaid’s shell. “No, you don’t live in the sea, you live in my heart… You are my destined one. Ah, you’re choking me again!”
Hei Dou, with its neck askew, glanced sideways at Chen Yu, kicking its paws and calling out affectionately.
“Ilia!!!”
“Stay here obediently, and move again and I’ll deal with your insignificant weight.”
Instantly, Hei Dou clamped its legs shut.
“Ilia, the roast meat you’re holding is actually what I roasted,” Chen Yu whispered softly. Ilia blinked in surprise, looking at the roast meat in her hand. “You roasted it.”
“Yes.”
“Then can you give me a piece?”
“Sure.” Chen Yu nodded with a smile, then his expression became serious. “You can’t get things for free. Although you’re very cute, you need to know what exchange is.”
“I can.”
Ilia raised her little hand, and with a bang, a small box appeared before her.
“Look, what do you want?”
The treasure chest opened, revealing its colorful contents.
Chen Yu and Hei Dou stared blankly at the treasure chest before Ilia, as if they had seen a treasure.
“Wow!”
A low exclamation came from Chen Yu and Hei Dou.
“Boss, do you want me to kill her for you!” Hei Dou narrowed its eyes, revealing its claws, and whispered, “If we pull this off, we’ll be rich.”
“Ha?”
Chen Yu looked incredulous.
“Weren’t you just nuzzling in Ilia’s arms? How did you suddenly become so cold-blooded?”
“Then let’s imprison her,” Hei Dou stuck out its tongue and licked its paws. “How about it? I think imprisoning her is good. From now on, she’ll be ours, hehehehe….”
Hei Dou laughed foolishly, its eyes rolling upwards, drool about to drip from its mouth.
Chen Yu instantly understood.
ヽ(⌒w⌒)人(=^‥^=)ﾉ
What are you agreeing on!
What kind of person is Chen Yu?
His heart is incredibly upright!!
“Get lost!”
Chen Yu glared at him.
What on earth had he signed?
He glared at Hei Dou, telling it to behave, and then Chen Yu looked at the treasures in Ilia’s chest.
“Do you have any elemental crystal fragments here?”
“No.” Ilia shook her head, then lowered her head to rummage in the box. “I don’t like elemental crystals.”
“What do you have here?” Chen Yu frowned. Ilia blinked. “Just some pretty stones, like cat’s eyes, jade, luminous pearls… I like them all so much, I don’t want to sell them to you.”
Chen Yu: “……”
If you don’t want to sell them, why show them? To show off your wealth?
“Hey, do you want blueprints?” Ilia made a thudding sound and took out another large box, opening it to reveal a pile of blueprints.
Hoo!
Chen Yu couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.
This mermaid girl was truly testing the limits of her own death.
Taking out a box of gems.
Then taking out a box of blueprints.
“Here, I’ll trade this with you.”
Ilia rummaged for a long time and took out two blueprints.
[Perfect Adventurer Leggings: One of the five-piece Adventurer set, leggings imprinted with a beginner earth elemental magic array, possessing good defensive capabilities, beginner magical armor.]
[Perfect Adventurer Breastplate: One of the five-piece Adventurer set, breastplate imprinted with a beginner earth elemental magic array, possessing good defensive capabilities, beginner magical armor.]
Set blueprints.
And they directly came with the "Perfect" attribute prefix.
The blueprints Chen Yu had encountered before had no attribute prefixes and depended on luck during crafting.
A perfect prefix meant it would be crafted as a perfect-grade item.
These blueprints were heaven-defying!
[Dungeon Reminder: The current blueprints do not belong to you yet and cannot be learned.]
Couldn't learn them.
Immediately, Chen Yu noticed a faint glimmer on the blueprints.
There was also transaction protection.
“Do you have any others?” Chen Yu asked, holding the two blueprints. “Adventurer series, can you give me the whole set.”
“No.”
Ilia shook her head and said.
“This is the only set I haven’t completed, which is why I’m selling it. The others are complete sets, and I’m reluctant to sell them.”
!!!
Was this intentional or unintentional? Every word and action she made was tempting people to commit crimes!
Her words could be interpreted as…
All the blueprints in the box were set blueprints.
Ilia’s eyes still held that naive ignorance as she tilted her head to look at Chen Yu’s face.
“Is it okay?”
Her innocent eyes.
Anyone looking at her would think she was a lamb without any power to resist, ready to be slaughtered.
Taking a deep breath.
Chen Yu ultimately did not entertain any improper thoughts.
One must be trustworthy.
He could lower the acquisition price, that was a matter of clear pricing and mutual consent.
He disdained to do anything unscrupulous.
“Okay, how many pieces of meat do you want?”
“I can set the price?” Ilia’s little face was filled with excitement. She excitedly clasped her small hands and held up five fingers. “I want five… No, no, no, I’ll just take three pieces.”
Ilia retracted two fingers, a childlike smile lingering on her face.
“Okay.”
“Then please wrap them for me with this parchment paper.” Ilia took out parchment paper. Chen Yu took out four pieces of exquisite roast meat and placed them on the parchment paper.
“Oh, there’s extra.”
“I gave you an extra piece because you’re cute.”
“Hehe, really!” Ilia smiled in surprise. “You’re a good person, but since it’s our first meeting and you’re giving me a gift, I should also give you a gift.”
Ilia drooped her little head, her eyes fixed on the two boxes before her, filled with a look of indecision.
“No need to return the favor, it’s a friendly gift.”
Noticing her expression, Chen Yu smiled, but Ilia shook her head very seriously.
“No, mermaids don’t accept gifts for free. How about this…” Ilia placed the parchment paper with the roast meat into a box and took off a bracelet from her wrist. “I’ll give you this bracelet. From now on, you are a friend of our mermaid tribe.”
The bracelet was made of coral, cool to the touch.
[Ilia’s Bracelet: Mermaid Princess Ilia’s bracelet, containing 1 cubic meter of space internally. The gluttonous her has hidden a lot of snacks in this bracelet. An intact elemental magic array is imprinted internally. Food placed inside will never rot.]
Food never spoils!
Chen Yu’s eyes immediately fixed on the words "never spoils."
Food placed inside would not rot or spoil.
A divine artifact!
For a food lover, wasn't this a divine artifact?
Wait,
It felt like he had missed more important information.
Mermaid Princess!!!
Chen Yu looked up at the pure and adorable mermaid girl before him.
“You’re a mermaid princess?” Chen Yu asked, full of surprise. Ilia nodded with a smile. “Yes, I’m the youngest princess of the mermaid tribe, Ilia.”
Then, Ilia extended her little hand.
“Nice to meet you, hehe!”