After Transmigrating into a Mermaid, I Was Picked Up by an Evil Dragon - Chapter 2

No answer was given. The Zerg, with long legs like steel blades, took a single stride and bored his way out.

An Ming: “……”

He had no choice but to follow behind, his body burning with heat, his mind dizzy, and his limbs weak. He was still terrified of the Zerg, but there was no other way. Staying here meant certain death; following the Zerg offered a slim chance of survival.

After crawling out of the crashed spaceship, the outside world was scorching and the light intense. The crimson earth was barren, surrounded not far away by jagged, reddish-brown rock formations. Ahead lay a gravel plain crisscrossed with gullies. An Ming swallowed hard against a non-existent mouthful of saliva, unsure of which way to go.

Suddenly, his shoulder tightened as the three-meter-tall alien Zerg’s massive iron pincers gripped him. Before panic could even rise, the Zerg picked him up and took flight.

It was actual flight!

Two giant, bat-like membranous bone wings unfurled, flapping powerfully, revealing a dangerous dark-red hue under the blazing sun.

The Zerg quickly carried An Ming over a low hill. In the shadow cast by the reddish-brown Gobi desert, dozens of armed humans were moving back and forth, carrying various pieces of equipment of all sizes that looked like surveying instruments. Nearby stood a solid black cube-shaped panel with perfectly straight edges. Further back stood a magnificent silver-gray spaceship, much larger than the small smuggling vessel used by the traffickers.

When the people saw the Zerg flying toward them, they stopped what they were doing and saluted. As he drew closer and they saw what he was carrying, their eyes widened in unison.

What a beautiful little brother!

Though his clothes were tattered, his blue short hair tangled, and his face dirty, nothing could hide his stunning, otherworldly features. He was even glowing! Wait? Are those scales? So the little brother is a merman?!

Ignoring the surrounding gazes, the Zerg landed directly in front of the large black panel and gently released An Ming. An Ming stumbled, nearly falling forward, but the panel suddenly sprouted an arm-like branch to steady him. It wasn’t that the Zerg’s movements were particularly rough; it was simply that An Ming was in terrible condition.

The Zerg didn’t speak. After a series of mechanical clicks, his body actually shrank and transformed, quickly shifting into a human form with broad shoulders, narrow hips, white hair, and dark skin. He walked straight ahead and leaped lightly into the spaceship.

The black panel was sleek and featureless, yet as it faced An Ming, he felt as though he were being deeply scanned and scrutinized. What also made him uneasy was the gaze of the human soldiers behind him. He couldn’t see them, but he could feel them. Unlike the traffickers, these were clearly professionally trained Alpha soldiers tall and sturdy. Forget the Zerg from before; any one of these people could easily crush him.

“What is your name?”

A male voice, laced with electronic static, spoke. An Ming froze for a moment before realizing the sound was coming from the large panel. He understood then that this was an Artificial Intelligence.

“An Ming.” As a “cannon fodder” character, the little merman didn’t have a name, so An Ming used his own.

“Hello, An Ming.” The black panel lit up, displaying a large smile symbol: 🙂

An Ming could feel that deep within the black panel, eyes were hidden, scanning him back and forth as if he were some miraculous creature.

“LAN invites you into the Phoenix. He wants to ask you a few questions.”

“……Lan?” An Ming looked blank.

“Yes.” The smile symbol changed from 🙂 to :D, signifying a broad grin. “LAN is our leader. The Phoenix is the name of our ship.”

Enduring the dry heat, An Ming’s brain began a rapid search. This group of humans was very strong; the AI in front of him and the handsome Zerg from earlier seemed to hold high status. And all of them obeyed a person named Lan.

In the book… there didn’t seem to be a major character named “Lan.” So, was the leader of this small army just another background character? What did Lan look like? Would he be even scarier than the Zerg?

An Ming pursed his lips. Just as he was about to ask if he should just walk in, the sounds of the soldiers behind him suddenly quieted down.

“No need to come in.”

The spaceship hatch opened again, and a voice as calm and piercing as winter snow rang out. An Ming followed the sound and was instantly rooted to the spot. He was witnessing a scene of breathtaking beauty unlike anything he had seen in two lifetimes.

A tall figure appeared at the hatch, shrouded in a cold aura, like a dragon lurking in the shadows. Dangerous and mysterious. As the man stepped forward with long, powerful legs and descended the ramp, the darkness vanished. Starting from the top of his head, sunlight poured joyfully over his entire body.

Silken gold hair fell softly over his shoulders, and eyes as blue as lake water were fixed on him. He had a high bridge to his nose, vivid red lips, and a sharp jawline.

The heat in An Ming’s body hadn’t dissipated, but at this moment, the world suddenly went silent. All his senses seemed to drift away. He watched dazed as the man walked up to him.

LAN stood still, scrutinizing the little merman before him. The merman was fragile, fair-skinned, and looked like a startled elf. The white-haired, dark-skinned Zerg stood by LAN’s side, arms crossed, also watching An Ming.

LAN’s gaze lingered on An Ming for a few moments before turning to the black AI. “Is the information collection and analysis complete?”

The black panel immediately retracted the smile symbol and began projecting data while reporting: “An Ming, Merman Alpha—”

“Shut up, Nine,” LAN interrupted, calling it by name. “Since you’ve finished the analysis, couldn’t you see he is severely dehydrated?”

The light on Nine’s panel dimmed instantly, looking like a dead object. The soldiers in the distance were still busy with their work, but their pace had slowed down as they secretly eavesdropped.

The Zerg, still wearing his combat suit, raised an eyebrow at the words and pulled a round military canteen from his side. He was about to hand it over when LAN intercepted it mid-air.

LAN unscrewed the cap and checked it, ensuring the canteen was clean and unused, before bringing it to An Ming’s lips.

“Drink it,” he commanded.

Zerg: “……” Nine: “……”

An Ming carefully took it, licked his dry lips, and began to sip slowly. As he drank, he felt an urge to cry. The military canteen was black, which made Lan’s fingers look even more fair and slender. Just like all his exposed skin, they were beautifully white.

Wuwu… what kind of peerless beauty is this… is the Great Beauty Lan an angel sent by this book to save me?!

After drinking half the canteen, An Ming felt much better. The scales on his arms and calves began to fade, and his webbed hands disappeared. The surging restlessness in his body also eased slightly.

“Thank you,” An Ming whispered, tilting his small face up. He didn’t dare look the Great Beauty in the eye, so he lowered his feathery eyelashes and spoke timidly.

The Great Beauty did not respond. However, the soldiers watching silently from the side were internally exploding.

“Did the Boss just scold Nine?” “For a second there, I thought Nine’s chip was going to be impaled.” “Did you see the Boss smile?” “What? When has the leader of the rebel army the man who makes the whole galaxy tremble ever smiled?” “Just now, when the little merman said thank you, the corners of his mouth twitched up slightly.” “No way? You sure you didn’t see wrong?”

The Zerg took the canteen back, and LAN finally said to Nine, “Begin.”

The panel lit up again. Nine switched to a more mechanical, cold voice: “An Ming, Merman Alpha, approximately 19 years old, height 180cm, weight 60kg, mental power Grade D.”

Everyone pricked up their ears. They felt a wave of pity the little merman was only a Grade D? A Merman Alpha was already considered the weakest Alpha among the four major races; wasn’t this basically being “useless”? Still, he was so cute; they all wanted to protect him like a younger brother.

An Ming stood there foolishly, completely unaware that he had just been “adopted” as a younger brother by dozens of fierce Alphas.

Nine continued: “Origin unknown, identity unknown. The earliest information traceable is from one week ago, appearing on the same spaceship as two Imperial Royal Guards.”

Hearing this, LAN smiled strangely a beaming smile. An Ming was dazed by the sight, failing to notice terms like “Emperor” or “Royal Guards.” All the soldiers also saw their leader’s obvious smile and were shocked.

Nine: “Two hours ago, the ship crashed on the Dragon Race’s wasteland planet, Miwei-1, only 2 kilometers away from the Phoenix. The two Royal Guards were severely injured and died in a flyer a few dozen meters away from the ship. An Ming was unharmed and free to move, hiding in the ship’s hold until discovered by Ivan.”

Nine: “Correction cannot say ‘unharmed.’ To be precise, An Ming has just finished differentiating and is still in the post-differentiation flux. Simultaneously, he is about to enter his first rut. Current body temperature is high, and he is emotionally agitated.”

“Boss, you’re standing too close. Be careful he doesn’t bite you.”

The Zerg, Ivan, let out a “heh,” as if he had heard a funny joke. LAN, however, wasn’t surprised by Nine’s words. It was as if he had expected it. His eyes grew cold, though the smile remained on his lips, creating a bizarre contrast. The soldiers were all too familiar with that look and began to shiver.

Was the younger brother they just ‘adopted’ about to kick the bucket?!

An Ming also sensed the danger in the air. He moved his mouth but didn’t know how to explain. Weren’t the people who kidnapped him traffickers selling Merman Omegas? How did they become Royal Guards? And he had only growled at them a few times how did they end up dead? Also, he had been locked in a cage, but when the Zerg found him, he was indeed outside of it…

“Do you want more water?” the Great Beauty asked suddenly.

“N-No… no more…” An Ming replied quickly. He wasn’t thirsty anymore, but he was starving. Earlier, Lan had only seen that he was dehydrated; he hadn’t asked for food then, and he certainly didn’t dare to now. Nine must have detected he was hungry, but Nine didn’t say anything…

The heavy restlessness in his body returned, growing more intense. So hungry… what is that smell on Lan? It’s so fragrant…

An Ming suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to pounce on the other man.

The Great Beauty ignored Nine’s suggestion and took another step forward, closing in on An Ming. At this distance, An Ming could see every fine detail of his face. The scent in his nose grew even stronger. Involuntarily, he also leaned forward.

The two were so close they were almost touching. The Zerg, Ivan, frowned slightly, his hand resting on the particle gun at his side. Though he didn’t think this suspicious merman was a threat, if he dared to disrespect LAN, he would blow his head off.

An Ming was intoxicated by the beauty, feeling lightheaded. He heard LAN speak again: “Something this small couldn’t possibly kill Imperial Royal Guards.”

“And they didn’t kill you either. So, should I say… this is a very brilliant ‘bitter meat’ trap?”

An Ming blinked. What is Lan talking about?

“Don’t look at me with that innocent expression.” LAN’s voice was laced with ice. “Sacrificing two insignificant Royal Guards to send you to my side as a mole, is that it?”

“Spill the Empire’s spy plan, or else…” LAN’s face changed completely. He lowered his head slightly, looking at An Ming’s bare feet. They were white, with faint blue veins visible cute. LAN looked for a moment, then shifted his gaze away.

“I’ll chop off your tail and turn it into soup,” he finished.

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