Chapter 1 A Matter of Discussion

Katerina slowly rose in the water, her graceful fishtail swaying unconsciously, revealing the constant contemplation in the queen's heart. She remained in this posture for several minutes without moving. Finally, she flashed a smile at Hao Ren, "I'm glad you're willing to discuss this with me."

"Uh…" Hao Ren was taken aback, "Shouldn't I? After all, it's your planet—even if you don't live there."

"That's why I'm sometimes surprised that a human can possess qualities like yours. It's truly incredible that powerful strength and a powerful heart can exist in one person simultaneously," Katerina said with a smile, her gaze lingering on Hao Ren's face for a long time. "Perhaps it's precisely because you possess these qualities that you can become an observer and guardian of all realms?"

"Uh… are you saying I didn't actually have to discuss this with you?" Hao Ren finally vaguely understood what Katerina meant.

The Siren Queen gently swayed her tail and bowed slightly to Hao Ren. This wasn't a greeting, but a sign of affirmation and respect in Siren culture: "You possess the power to travel to and from these planets, you control all the gates and routes, you know the exact coordinates of Aerym, and you've already occupied all the shipping lanes around that planet with your drone army. Don't you realize? You're already the de facto controller of that planet. According to ordinary people, you're the governor there. We are merely the nominal descendants of that planet. Originally, you didn't need to discuss anything with me—even if you placed anyone there, you only needed to inform us of this established fact, and no one could refute it."

Hao Ren scratched his head, "If I really did that, you definitely wouldn't be smiling."

Katerina nodded earnestly, "Yes, I would be very disappointed and full of hostility towards you. Perhaps the sirens would even try to retaliate? Fight with you? Anyway, no matter what, the outcome wouldn't be greatly affected, because you effectively control everything. So I'm very surprised by your current actions."

"I think you think too badly of me," Hao Ren said, spreading his hands with a wry smile. "What you said is too unethical."

"It's not a question of good or bad, it's just human nature," Katerina said with a smile. "Although I rarely go ashore, I know countless emperors and dynasties have risen and fallen on this planet. People's desire for power and control has always been pure and eternal. Few people are like you, wielding great power, able to ignore any law, yet meticulously pursuing justice."

Hao Ren originally thought his skin was quite thick, but at this moment, he was still embarrassed by the Siren Queen's praise. He thought to himself, how could he be so noble? Who doesn't have a desire for power and control, who doesn't have a selfish mentality and proud emotions? He secretly enjoyed hearing the Airem elves call him the Sun King—but he still had to discuss issues fairly and openly with the sirens here. This had little to do with noble sentiments. The main reason was that he was afraid that if Raven 12345 knew he had violated immigration regulations again, she would break through the void with a furious flying kick. Hao Ren asked himself if his small body was enough for the goddess sister to kick him once…

But these reasons were for him to know, there was no need to expose them here. Maintaining the Siren Queen's high opinion of him was also an important asset. So Hao Ren nodded solemnly, trying to keep a straight face and pretending to be a saint: "Ahem, if I couldn't be fair, how could I shoulder this great responsibility—since I'm the caretaker of so many civilizations and races, my personal interests have long been cleared to zero…"

Vivian coughed loudly twice: "Ahem, let's talk business, let's talk business!"

She was worried that her face would swell if she continued listening.

Katerina, however, did not doubt Hao Ren's words, because she had personally seen this man's ship and his ability to cross worlds. She firmly believed that Hao Ren was pursuing justice even when he had everything in his hands, so she nodded very seriously: "We can agree."

Hao Ren subconsciously said the lines he had memorized so many times in his mind: "Of course, it's certain you have some concerns, but we can… uh, wait, you agreed?! Just like that?!"

Hao Ren had originally thought of a lot of reasons to persuade her, but he never expected the Siren Queen to agree so readily. Suddenly, half of his lines got stuck in his throat, almost causing a heart attack. He stared at Katerina: "Those Ark people aren't sirens, you don't understand them…"

"They can't live forever on a planet without land, can they?" Katerina squinted her eyes. "Even if they learn to mine minerals from the deep sea, even if they tame the ocean with technology, they can't be as comfortable as they are on land, because the ocean ultimately belongs to the sirens."

"That's right, their arks are just resting on Aerym, waiting to complete mechanical repairs and material supplies before they leave. At the latest, it will be when I find a new planet suitable for them to live on," Hao Ren promised. "During this period, they can't go anywhere—the ark is the only island they can survive on in Aerym."

"Anyway, we have to wait many years before we can return to Aerym," Katerina nodded gently. "It's no big deal to let those people on the ark rest on our planet for a while."

Saying that, Katerina sighed: "Moreover, our two races have similar fates after all, both of us lost our homes in that catastrophe…"

Hao Ren didn't say anything, but Vivian looked at the queen and said, "Then you must also have conditions, right? You're a queen after all, you definitely can't just agree to the whole thing out of kindness."

Katerina laughed, "Of course—a transaction must have give and take. Those ark humans are renting our place, so they should pay some rent, right?"

"What do you want?" Hao Ren looked at the Siren Queen curiously.

"I want their ship," Katerina raised a finger. "Not much, just one is enough, a complete one. I know those ships are their lifeline, but they have an entire fleet, so it shouldn't be a problem to put together an extra one."

"Uh… this problem shouldn't be too big. Anyway, the people in the ark don't even have the concept of a spaceship now, and Lawrence should be happy to exchange a ship for the lifeline of others. I'm 90% sure, so I can agree for him first," Hao Ren stroked his chin. "But what do you want a spaceship for?"

Katerina didn't answer directly, but reached into her stomach and took out a small, sapphire-like crystal and placed it on the table. Hao Ren was stunned when he saw it: "Damn, where did you pull that thing out of?"

Katerina was preparing to demonstrate something with a serious face, but was immediately choked by Hao Ren's words: "Ahem… from my body. It's common sense to keep your belongings in your stomach, right?"

Vivian opened her mouth: "… Is that common sense for you sirens?"

"Pretty much that's the idea," Katerina waved her hand. "We put our luggage directly into our stomachs when we go out. If we can't fit it in, we'll just get a little bigger. We can always fit it in, so the sirens are a race that is very good at traveling—although most of the time we travel underwater. Speaking of which, aren't Nangong Wuyue and Aersha living at your house? Don't you know this yet?"

Hao Ren thought for a while, and he actually remembered that Nangong Wuyue often stuffed things into her stomach—but most of the time she stuffed in dishes and clothes that were ready to be washed…

These deep-sea creatures are just too magical.

Katerina curled her lips, ignoring the two "uninformed" guys in front of her, and instead pressed the gemstone. Suddenly, the gemstone emitted bursts of blue light. Then, the light trembled in the water, gradually forming a structure that looked like a holographic sandbox.

It was the overall schematic diagram of Nasaton.

"What is this?" Hao Ren stared blankly at the holographic projection device.

"Ever since I had memory, I've been carrying this gemstone with me. I don't know what other functions it has, I only know that if I input magic power, it can release some images, and if I put this gemstone on the mechanical control panel under the palace, I can activate many functions of Nasaton," Katerina explained. "I guess this should be the authority key for the ship's captain—I, this 'Siren Queen,' was originally the chief navigator of Nasaton."

"So this is the structural diagram of your ship?"

"Yeah," Katerina nodded gently. "I want to fix this ship, at least… figure out how it works."

Hao Ren and Vivian said in unison: "Are you preparing to take off again?!"

"No, I haven't dared to think that far yet," Katerina smiled softly. "Of course, if this ship is in good condition, I'm indeed a little interested in space, but currently… I just want to figure out what exactly happened to this city where my sisters have lived for ten thousand years. We want to try to rebuild some things."