Mute swam over with Ms. Dolphin.
Her little face was flushed with excitement. “Wonderful! Today’s rescue went perfectly. Not a single person died.”
Chen Miemie asked casually, “I noticed you rescued members of the demonfolk too?”
Mute froze for a moment.
“Out on the open sea, when disaster strikes, everyone has to work together and help one another to survive. Saving others is saving yourself.”
Chen Miemie nodded without comment.
The two of them boarded the Jade Rabbit and began their journey back.
It was only after they had completely left the stormy waters that the intermittent “yoo-yoo” cries finally vanished altogether.
5:00 p.m.
Chen Miemie and Mute returned to the vicinity of [Wavefoam Port].
Mute waved goodbye to her good friend, Ms. Dolphin.
After spending the entire afternoon drifting across the sea, Chen Miemie finally set both feet on solid ground again.
“Mute, thank you. Today’s trip was incredible.”
It truly had been incredible: sea breeze, waves, dolphins, diving, lightning strikes, and rescue operations. Several months’ worth of experiences for an ordinary sailor had been compressed into just a few short hours.
“N... no... problem.”
“How about I buy you dinner tonight?”
“N... no need. I... I still have... official business... to deal with.”
Chen Miemie frowned. “Mute, you spoke quite smoothly all afternoon. Why have you started stammering again? It’s just the two of us now.”
Mute tried to pull out her writing board, but Chen Miemie stopped her.
“Just speak. You’re capable of communicating normally.”
“I... I don’t know... why. I can only... speak normally when I’m alone... with Ms. Dolphin.”
Chen Miemie immediately rejected that explanation.
“You’ve told me that once before. I thought it was true at first, but after spending the entire afternoon with you, I realized that isn’t the case.”
Mute looked at Chen Miemie in confusion.
Chen Miemie presented his reasoning.
“Mute, you may not have noticed.
“This afternoon, when you, Ms. Dolphin, and I were together, you were able to communicate normally. That wasn’t technically ‘being alone,’ as you put it. Doesn’t that prove that as long as you’re with Ms. Dolphin and there’s a third person present—someone who doesn’t make you nervous—you can still maintain that state?”
Mute thought seriously about it, then nodded.
Chen Miemie stared into Mute’s eyes.
“Good. Now comes the more important point.
“During the rescue, you and Ms. Dolphin were occasionally separated, but I was beside you. During those brief periods when it was only the two of us, you still spoke normally.”
Mute actually had an excellent memory. She froze.
“H... how could... that be?”
“I don’t know either.
“My guess is that the situation was so urgent that your mind was focused entirely on saving people. You forgot that Ms. Dolphin wasn’t beside you. Since you weren’t nervous around me, you were able to remain in the state you’d already entered.”
Mute stood there, stunned.
She was intelligent enough to understand what this meant.
Chen Miemie voiced the thought at the bottom of her heart.
“So, Mute, believing that you must be alone with Ms. Dolphin in order to speak normally isn’t an insurmountable objective fact. It’s a subjective limitation you’ve placed on yourself. That means it can be overcome and resolved.”
Mute’s eyes widened. “R... really?”
“Absolutely. More genuine than a pearl.”
Her delighted expression lasted less than two seconds before disappearing.
“But... I’ve tried so... so many times. I even saw... a psychologist, but every time... I failed.”
Chen Miemie waved his hand grandly.
“Hmph. That’s because you didn’t find the right person. Has anyone ever identified the problem for you this accurately before? No, right? This is a job for Chen Miemie.
“Listen, Mute. My previous job was running a shop that helped people solve the troubles in their lives. If you brought this problem to my shop, it would be nothing more than an ordinary commission.”
“Would you... be willing to help me?”
“Of course. We’re good friends, after all. I used to charge a fee for handling commissions, but since I’m no longer a shopkeeper, I can give you a massive discount.”
“What... what fee?”
“If I cure your communication problem, you’ll give me the best performance you can and sing me a song. How does that sound?”
Mute looked into Chen Miemie’s serious eyes, clenched her fists, and gave a firm nod.
“Deal.”
And so, Chen Miemie acquired a new job from Mute, the city lord of [Wavefoam Port]: communication-disorder healer.
Night fell, and the Evermoon hung high in the sky.
The water level in the city rose, submerging the roads.
After finding a restaurant and having dinner, Chen Miemie didn’t return to the inn. Instead, he stepped onto a small boat and headed for [Mussel Ruins].
People had often said that [Mussel Ruins] was very close to [Wavefoam Port]. After making the journey himself, Chen Miemie discovered that they had been telling the truth.
After paddling the Jade Rabbit for only two hours, he stopped in the middle of a stretch of water.
“We’ve arrived. [Mussel Ruins] is directly below us.”
Chen Miemie glanced around. To the north was an entire fleet.
These weren’t the small civilian vessels commonly seen on the water. They were large, military-grade ships bristling with weapons.
It was [Wavefoam Port]’s maritime fleet, and every ship had personnel standing guard.
The patrols were all high-ranking Mystics. They immediately spotted Chen Miemie and the Jade Rabbit, despite their relatively concealed position.
Chen Miemie had no intention of going over to greet them. He simply vanished, boat and all.
[Reflection Voyage] activated.
The upside-down boat continued to descend.
It sank several thousand meters before, in the still depths of the sea, a deep-blue protective barrier finally appeared.
It was a vast inverted hemisphere. From a distance, it didn’t look particularly large, but once he drew closer, Chen Miemie realized that it enclosed an entire underwater city.
The Jade Rabbit circled the outer edge of the barrier. Before long, Chen Miemie found the entrance to the city that had once stood there.
To his surprise, the gates of [Mussel Ruins] were open. Demons came and went through the entrance, which was still operating normally.
Morwen, whom he had contacted in advance, was already waiting at the entrance in a long robe that wrapped her from head to toe.
“Chen Miemie, over here.” Her eyes were sharp, and she spotted him immediately.
Once they had regrouped, Morwen gave a brief introduction to the person accompanying her.
“This is the president of the [Foamborn Jellyfish Society].”
The figure beside Morwen, concealed within the robe, slightly lifted her hood, revealing part of her face.
At the same time, the water surrounding the three of them grew noticeably warmer.
“I am Warm Current Shepherd Nuanyang. Welcome to [Mussel Ruins], Third Seat Descendant.”
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
