Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 345 The Bride of the Sea God (4)

"How is it? Pretty, isn't it?" Si Lan asked.

Yan Zhen nodded: "This is..."

"A Grade B pet mermaid, a birthday present for you," Si Lan said. "I caught it three months ago. I did an EEG test, and its intelligence is equivalent to that of a three-year-old child. Although it can't speak, it can understand some simple instructions."

It has also undergone safety stress testing; it is very docile, showing no aggression whatsoever, and is so beautiful—perfect as a pet.

Yan Zhen clicked his tongue in surprise.

Before giving her this gift, Si Lan had considered all factors such as safety, personality, and compatibility, but he never expected that this B-level mermaid would be an S-level imposter.

Because humans have not studied S-class mermaids enough, they did not realize that it was in disguise.

The original owner of this body was deceived by Si Yu for two years without realizing it, so it's really not fair to blame her for being slow-witted.

After all, Si Yu managed to fool Si Lan, the researchers specializing in mermaids, and all the testing equipment in the lab.

"Thank you, sister, I really like it!" Yan Zhen accepted the gift.

Si Lan said, "It seems to like you too. Let's give it a name."

Yan Zhen looked at the mermaid. From the moment she appeared, it had been watching her quietly and curiously, its face full of obedience and gentleness.

"Si Yu, how is it?"

After conveying his meaning with his eyes, he shook his head again before Si Lan could answer, saying, "It sounds like a dead fish, which is unlucky... How about Nolan?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the little creature in the glass tank's beautiful sea-blue eyes instantly turned into snake-like vertical pupils.

But only for a moment, and then they returned to their round, puppy-dog eyes.

Yan Zhen pretended not to notice.

Si Lan asked, "Nolan... does this name have any special meaning?"

"It means 'ocean' in a less common language," Yan Zhen said. "It comes from the ocean, so a name related to the ocean is just right for it."

“Okay.” Si Lan didn’t think much of it. “Where do you want to keep it? I’ll have someone send it over.”

"Send it to the villa on Changming Road. It's close to the school and has a swimming pool. We can clean it up and let it swim there."

Si Lan immediately set about starting the transfer, and also gave Yan Zhen a document on raising mermaids.

Yan Zhen flipped through it and, upon closer inspection, discovered that this thing was quite delicate.

Keeping mermaids requires strict control over the temperature and humidity of their environment. The temperature in the place where they stay year-round should not exceed 25 degrees Celsius. Too much heat will make it difficult for them to breathe, and staying in a high-temperature place for a long time can even lead to death.

Moreover, they are very timid and easily stressed. Because of their low intelligence, you need to be extra careful when playing with them, otherwise you may be cut by the sharp scales on their tail fins.

Their teeth are very sharp and can easily crush human bones. They have a keen sense of smell and hearing, and their living environment cannot be too noisy, nor can they be frightened.

Class B mermaids have a certain probability of developing legs after the age of two, allowing them to walk in the water like humans.

The test to see if they can differentiate is to force them out of the water for thirty minutes. If the webbing between their tail fin and fingers falls off automatically, it proves that they can differentiate. If not, they can only be mermaids.

"Professor Chen said that Nolan's age is probably between one and a half and one year and eight months. In a few more months, we will know whether it can differentiate into two legs."

As Si Lan spoke, she winked at Yan Zhen, her smile carrying a hint of meaning, "If it could differentiate, such a pretty little thing would make you look good when you take it out."

Yan Zhen didn't understand the mischievousness in her eyes and nodded blankly: "Okay, I understand."

As they were talking, Si Lan's phone rang.

She walked aside to answer a phone call, then said to Yan Zhen, "I have something to do, so I have to go first. Wait here, and I'll have the driver come and take you."

Yan Zhen shook his head: "I'll go back myself."

Si Lan didn't insist: "Let's go downstairs together then."

When they got downstairs, there was a flashy yellow sports car parked outside, and a young man who looked like a college student, wearing a hoodie and sneakers, was leaning against the car.

Upon seeing Si Lan, the man greeted her warmly, and the two embraced, sharing a French kiss right in front of Yan Zhen without any hesitation.

Yan Zhen: "..."

Is this Si Lan's boyfriend?

She searched through the original owner's memories but found no trace of this man.

Through his memories, Yan Zhen knew that Si Lan went abroad to study when she was a teenager, stayed abroad for ten years, and returned when she finished her doctorate at the age of 28.

Influenced by her environment, Si Lan is very open about relationships and believes in the brevity of life, changing male partners as easily as changing clothes.

Si Xia has seen no fewer than ten men, ranging from eighteen-year-old adults to forty-year-old refined gentlemen.

Si Lan quickly got into the sports car with the man and drove away.

Yan Zhen stood there pondering for a while, then took out his access pass to the research institute from his pocket and returned to the building.

Yan Zhen spent two hours walking around the research institute.

The New Territories Research Institute, established for over sixty years, was among the first research institutes in the country to be approved for the legal capture and exploitation of mermaid resources.

For sixty years, the research institute has made the most of the mermaids. The Si family has successively developed high-end production lines for edible fish oil, skin care products, luxury goods, chilled mermaid meat, and aphrodisiacs, making countless profits.

The institute's current research focus is on mermaid skin—which can be used in the medical field to effectively treat burns and scars.

In the laboratory, Yan Zhen saw a mermaid skin that had been peeled off. The upper body from the neck down, along with the long, scaly tail, was spread out completely on the lab table, like a rag doll with its wick removed.

Yan Zhen felt nauseous watching it.

Another experimental warehouse houses a group of D-class and C-class mermaids.

Unlike the beautiful B-grade mermaids, these lower-grade mermaids have black scales and look just like ordinary humans you can see anywhere on the street.

Because of their low grade, these merfolk are not worth keeping separately, so they are kept together in a large pond, crowded together, like blackfish in a supermarket tank waiting to be sold.

Yan Zhen stopped in front of the pool, watching the mermaids tumbling and swimming in it. Occasionally, he would make eye contact with one of them, feeling a strange sense of disgust.

This deep-sea creature has an upper body just like a human's, yet it is being raised here as food.

For Yan Zhen, this was no different from eating human flesh.

But Yan Zhen knew that the first group of people who proposed capturing and developing mermaid resources, and the group that is currently conducting research on it, did not think that way.

In their eyes, mermaids are "fish," not "people."

Leaving the research institute, Yan Zhen shook her head, trying to suppress the emotions affecting her mood.

Judging by the time, Nolan should be home by now.

She needs to get back as soon as possible.

After taking a taxi back to the villa on Changming Road, Yan Zhen entered the room and saw a large round fish tank in the living room. The tank was less than two meters high, and Nolan was curled up at the bottom with his eyes closed and his face pale.

"What's wrong with it?" Yan Zhen asked.

He was fine when he was at the research institute, so why did he become visibly lethargic after being sent here?

The research institute staff member responsible for transporting Nolan said, "He might be a little carsick. He'll be fine after resting for half a day."