I Was Raised After Being a Mermaid - Chap 50
Chap 50
: Intelligent Creatures
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Kiramekineko
During the daytime, almost everyone on Star Online was talking about the mermaid black market case. At night, after An Jin’s live broadcast, the topic of “mermaid intelligent creatures” quickly exploded and swept through the entire Star Alliance.
No wonder His Majesty insisted on a felony sentence, it turned out that mermaids were intelligent creatures! The verdict would be successful, right? An An will be fine! He’s so smart! Even if a solid-colored mermaid was an intelligent being, it didn’t mean that the rest of the mermaids were too, right?
At least the mermaids could communicate with each other, so they had a certain intelligence!
[Now that I think about the black market case, I’m really angry!]
There were people who thought that the verdict was too severe, but after learning that the mermaids were probably intelligent beings, they changed their minds immediately and the verdict was not severe at all!
Thinking about An Jin and Little Silver saying that they would never sing for humans again, many people got nervous, because after all, the mermaids were very important to humans.
Even if the effect of Agent A was the same as a mermaid’s song, the amount of Agent A was small and it was difficult to purchase. Except for a few people, the majority of people could still rely only on mermaid’s song to replenish their spiritual power.
The number of people who agreed with the verdict were increasing, and those who had auctioned off their mermaids through regular channels were pressuring the court. If their own mermaid was not satisfied with the verdict, what if they won’t sing anymore?
There were even people who wanted to increase the penalty.
And for the offenders, it was simply impossible to appeal successfully.
After Norman announced that the intelligent creature verdict would be made tomorrow, An Jin turned off the live broadcast.
An Jin opened the terminal and browsed through the topics on Starnet, relieved to see that the public was focused on the mermaid IQ and the black market case, and that no one thought it was strange that he could talk, let alone that anyone had suggested studying him.
He tilted his head at Norman and squeezed his fingers. “Do I need to prepare anything for tomorrow?”
He was a little nervous about finally getting rid of his pet status, but also full of anticipation for the future.
“No, just get some rest tonight,” said Norman, rubbing the little mermaid’s head. “Don’t stress, you can definitely get your ID tomorrow.”
An Jin nodded, his eyes unconsciously bent, and his tail wagged lazily, obviously happy.
Suddenly, he thought of something and his face turned serious. He reached out and pointed to the nutrients next to the shelf. “I was browsing Starnet earlier and found that many people wanted Type A soothing agents to be sold to the public. I have calculated, with my current spiritual power, I can purify two boxes of soothing agents per day, one box for you, and the other I want to sell.”
Norman was surprised, he did not expect the little mermaid would have the idea of business, after all, mermaids, from birth to adulthood, simply did not use money. He thought about how the little mermaid also seemed to be interested in making money when he was in the holographic world. However, he thought the little mermaid just wanted to buy food and had no desire to earn money.
Only now did he realize that little mermaid seemed to like making money. He shook his head. “I can’t take a box for nothing, how do you want to sell it?”
An Jin couldn’t decide either and looked at him questioningly. “What do you think is the right price?”
Norman shook his head. “It’s too rare to be priced, the best way is to auction it.”
“But won’t it be a hassle to auction it off every day?”
Norman said, “If you want to sell them, I’m willing to buy them all.”
“Huh?” An Jin blinked his eyes. He mainly wanted to make money and return the twenty-five billion to Norman. If he sold it to Norman, it felt a bit strange. However, Norman wanted it, so of course he was more than willing to sell it to Norman.
An Jin hesitated and told Norman what he thought. “You spent twenty-five billion dollars to buy me, and I want to return twenty-five billion dollars to you first.”
Norman frowned. “No need to pay it back.”
An Jin was very firm. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have been bought by someone else, and my life couldn’t be any better than it is now. I might even be like the mermaid in the black market case.” He looked at Norman seriously. “Even if I hadn’t offered to pay back the twenty-five billion, you would have been willing to help me with the intelligent creature determination. You’ve been good to me. All the more reason I can’t let you suffer.”
Norman met the little mermaid’s blue eyes, his low voice extraordinarily serious. “I feel very fortunate to have taken you, and will not lose out.”
An Jin’s eyes wandered for a moment, and although embarrassed, he still had the courage to meet his eyes again. “Because you like me?” Without waiting for Norman’s answer, he quickly added, “That’s why I have to give it back to you.”
Norman’s eyes flashed with a smile. “It seems An An already knows my heart very well.”
An Jin’s heart beat a little faster and he pursed his lips to make himself look calm. He had no emotional experience, but in his heart he also knew that Norman was different. However, he wasn’t sure which was different, dependence, security, or lover’s feelings. He couldn’t tell yet. He nodded. “Yes, I know very well.”
Norman’s fondness for him was so straightforward that he didn’t wonder or doubt, as he did when he first learned. He continued the previous topic, “I don’t have that much money now. Originally I wanted to sell Agent A to pay you back twenty-five billion, but since you want it, is it okay to offset it directly with Agent A?”
“Sure.” Norman nodded his head. He looked at the little mermaid, and his face was still calm, but his heart was beating much faster than usual. The little mermaid knew his heart and didn’t want any other favors involved, why? Could it be what he thought? Was the little mermaid considering accepting him?
For the first time in his thirty years of life, Norman was so apprehensive, yet he did not dare to ask, fearing that the little mermaid would feel pressured.
An Jin, unaware of Norman’s mental activity, asked again, “How much do you think is appropriate for each one?”
Norman said, “Let’s hold an auction first and set the price at the auction price.”
An Jin knew that auction prices were usually very high and was worried. “Is that too high?”
“The seller will only think the price is low, no one will think the price is high.”
He thought the little mermaid was mature, but still very simple.
“But it’s going to count your money,” An Jin said, a little torn, thinking, “if you want it at one million a piece is that okay? Wouldn’t you think it’s expensive?”
He wanted it to be cheaper, but he remembered that some people on the Internet were willing to buy it for ten million.
And it didn’t make sense for it to be too cheap for him, after all, if it was too cheap, he might not be able to pay back twenty-five billion in his lifetime.
Norman replied, “It’s not expensive, it’s too low. I didn’t even pay for the nutrient solution I took before.”
An Jin hurriedly said, “No need.” Seeing that Norman was satisfied with the price, he was not prepared to give Norman the opportunity to raise the price and settled on it. “That’s the price.”
Speaking of which, he couldn’t help but ask Norman, “All the Agent A you bought was for the military, was it your own money?”
“There is a transaction involved, paid for by the military department.”
An Jin sighed with relief. “That’s good.”
He also felt that it would be unreasonable for Norman to pay for the ones used for the military. Even in a feudal society, money for the military was paid by the state, not by the emperor himself.
Norman met the little mermaid’s bright eyes with a hint of a smile in them. “Afraid I don’t have money?”
“Of course not, I know you’re rich,” said An Jin.
Norman nodded his head, and thinking that the little mermaid seemed to like making money, he stated seriously, “Yes, I am rich.”
An Jin didn’t understand why he was suddenly showing off his wealth in a high profile way, but he wanted to laugh at his seriousness.
“Eight-thirty,” Norman said. He saw the time was late, and said to the little mermaid, “An An have a good rest tonight, good night.”
An Jin’s eyes curled, “Norman good night.”
The next day, An Jin got up very early. He went to the holographic world early to clear the impurities, and because of the upgraded ability, the speed of clearing impurities was much faster than before. After clearing the impurities, he went straight offline and cleaned himself up.
Norman walked to the door of the mermaid room, knocked on the door, and only after knocking once, it was opened and the little mermaid was standing behind the door. Norman’s eyes lit up and his eyes were slightly stunned.
The little mermaid was wearing a blue T-shirt and a fishtail skirt of the same color, his hair was tied behind his head, and his delicate little face was completely exposed.
The little mermaid stood clean and fresh in the mermaid car, and if he ignored the scales on his face, he looked like any other teenager.
An Jin arched his eyebrows. “Let’s go to the dining room to eat.”
Norman nodded, took a step back and headed to the restaurant side by side with the mobility scooter, and as he walked, his eyes shifted uncontrollably to the left, looking at the little mermaid.
An Jin asked, “Are you still going to the War Office this morning?”
“Not until after the adjudication.”
An Jin didn’t want to cause him any trouble and looked at him. “If you’re busy, you don’t have to accompany me, I can do it myself.”
“Not busy,” Norman said, leaning down to pick up the little mermaid and put him gently on the seat. He waited for the little mermaid to grab the edge of the table and sit down before letting go completely and taking a seat next to him.
An Jin’s tail fin twitched gently, and he looked down at the floor with a thoughtful glint in his eye; sitting seemed more comfortable.
“What’s wrong?” Norman asked.
An Jin shook his head and pressed his mental thoughts down for the moment, after all, there were more important things to do later.
Early in the morning, the Star Alliance people, whether they were going to school, working or on vacation, were all doing the same thing, staring at the terminal and watching the official Star Alliance live broadcast.
Finally, at eight-twenty, the name of the live broadcast room was changed to “Pure color mermaid testing for intelligent creature determination”.
[Hurry up! I can’t wait!]
[An An don’t be nervous, I’ll definitely vote for you!]
Before the broadcast even started, the pop-ups were already buzzing.
At eight-thirty, the live broadcast started!
A large, simply decorated hall with L-shaped sofas appeared on the screen.
On the long side sat five suit-clad Star Alliance staff, and near the middle was the secretary-general of the Star Alliance. Almost all eyes fell on the two people sitting on the short side; the outer side was His Majesty Norman, near the middle, and the secretary-general closer to the pure-colored mermaid.
The pure color mermaid seemed to know the opening of the broadcast; he inclined his head to the live ball and smiled, blue eyes half curved, as if holding a lake, transparent and charming. His crimson lips gently curved up, the corners of his mouth with a light smile, looking good and quiet.
The pop-ups went crazy.
[The blue t-shirt is too suitable for An An, right? So beautiful, so good!]
[I’m fascinated by his smile. From now on, His Majesty is my rival!]
[My mermaid is also enchanted!]
The secretary-general was in his fifties, and had been the secretary-general for nearly twenty years, but it was the first time he had judged a single intelligent creature, and the other party was a very rare mermaid. His eyes shone brightly, showing an excited look, and his gaze fell on the little mermaid with an astonished look.
The four staff members beside him likewise landed their eyes on An Jin in unison.
Norman scanned the pop-up screen and looked at the excited people. His eyes sank slightly and he reminded, “It’s time to start.”
At this point, the number of viewers had already exceeded ten billion; it was obvious that almost all planets were watching this livestream.
The secretary-general collected his emotions, his face was serious, and he said in a businesslike manner, “The most basic requirements for judging intelligent beings are IQ and language.”
The secretary-general opened the terminal, called up the virtual screen, and on the screen appeared two colors of black and white squares.
The secretary-general asked him which one was black and which one was white, and then asked An Jin. After confirming that An Jin was correct, he switched the positions of the black and white blocks and asked again.
An Jin still answered quickly.
After that, four color squares appeared on the screen: black and white, red and green.
The secretary-general said their colors, then switched their positions and asked An Jin what color they were.
Without thinking, An Jin gave the answer accurately and sharply.
The secretary-general marveled as the four staff members behind him flew to analyze An Jin’s response speed.
The secretary-general got the data from the analysis and he looked in the direction of the live ball. “Obviously, the pure color mermaid has a good IQ.”
After that, the secretary-general asked mathematical questions as well as language questions, and An Jin answered them all quickly.
The secretary-general was surprised. “You studied?”
An Jin’s blue eyes curved. “I was taught in the cartoon.”
The secretary-general and the audience were even more surprised.
[Really smart!]
[Oh my God, I didn’t realize it before!]
[I wonder if the rest of the mermaids are the same.]
[From this moment on, I want to get to know mermaids again.]
[Get to know Plus One.]
After the answer test, the secretary-general gave two more manual questions, which An Jin still completed quickly and correctly.
After the IQ test was completed, the process was supposed to be a language test, and as An Jin spoke to the Secretary-General in interstellar throughout the process, it was completed directly.
When it came to the final session, the secretary-general looked at the live ball and said seriously, “After our professional judgment, An An is an intelligent creature, and to ensure the fairness of the result, please vote now.”
An Jin was suddenly a little nervous. He squeezed his fingers, looked at the live ball, smiled, and said, “I hope to be friends with humans as equals in the future.”
[Little mermaid’s blue eyes are so beautiful.]
[Looking into those eyes, I would agree to anything he said.]
[I want to be friends with you too!]
Soon, the results came in, and with nearly ten billion votes in favor, the outcome was obvious.
The secretary-general announced, “An An is an intelligent being.” He looked at An Jin. “Do you want to get an ID card now?”
An Jin nodded. “An An is my nickname, my full name is An Jin. I am an adult and wish to apply for an adult ID card.”
The secretary-general seemed a little surprised, then looked at Norman and got it.
If Siao’s Majesty recognized him as his mate, of course, he must be an adult! However, he still had to follow the laws of the Star Alliance. “To apply for an adult ID card, you must prove that your labor income is enough to support yourself.”
An Jin looked at Norman.
Norman opened the terminal and pulled up a contract. “This is the contract for my employment of An Jin, he will be my personal doctor from now on.” He looked at the little mermaid. “An An, I will read it to you, if you agree then sign your fingerprints.”
Norman offered a very good salary package, a base salary of one hundred million star coins per month, with food and lodging included. An Jin was surprised; Norman said he hired him but didn’t mention the package, he thought it was too high.
He didn’t want to reject Norman directly in front of so many live viewers. After a moment’s hesitation, he turned his head and whispered close to Norman, “The base salary is too high, I’ll sign again if you change it to lower.”
The live ball used by Star Alliance was of top quality, and the live range was only at the sofa, so even if he spoke in a whisper, the audience could hear him clearly.
[Little mermaid is too kind, right? The actual request for a pay cut!]
[His Majesty must have been laughing! Even if his face wasn’t smiling, he was smiling in his heart.]
[I also want the little mermaid to be so close to me.]
Norman’s eyes were downcast, and he could see the long, curved eyelashes of the little mermaid clearly, and wanted to reach out and touch them. The fingertips of his hand on his knee moved unnoticeably, rubbing the military pants. He cooperated with the little mermaid, whispering, “Not too high, you are worth it.”
An Jin’s ear tips reddened slightly, and he sat upright with his head tilted, still looking a bit hesitant. He thought about it, reached out, pressed his fingerprint on the virtual screen, and signed the contract.
As long as he often sang to Norman, he could ensure that Norman’s spiritual force was in a state of fullness, then with the fruits of his labor, it was worthy of the salary!
After all, in the live show, there were so many viewers; he could not refuse Norman or let Norman lose face.
[Suddenly lemon, I also want to become a mermaid ah.]
[Could the mermaids understand the black market case? Do they see that people can pay them instead?]
[The price is not expensive.]
[I am willing to pay a higher salary!]
[Don’t even think about it, His Majesty won’t give you a chance.]
An Jin didn’t pay attention to the pop-ups and turned his head to ask, “Mr. Secretary-General, is this okay?”
The secretary-general replied, “Of course. According to the law of the Star Alliance, the nationality of individual intelligent beings of unknown nationality is temporarily the country of residence, do you agree?”
“Temporarily?”
The secretary-general explained, “It’s just a prudent statement; if we can find your home country, we can return you to your original nationality as long as it is accepted locally.”
An Jin nodded. “I agree.”
The secretary-general said, “Make an ID card, we need to collect your genes, it can be processed in a quarter of an hour.”
An Jin cooperated by reaching out and a staff member took a drop of his blood and took it to the machine for processing. Another staff member took An Jin’s ID photo, and both Norman and the secretary-general cooperated by getting up and leaving the little mermaid alone on the couch.
Soon An Jin was given his ID chip, which was inserted into his terminal and all information was synchronized. An Jin looked through his personal information screen, the country he belonged to: Siao Empire.
He was a little excited. From today, he was no longer a pet, but a social individual with independent rights and freedom. In this other world, he finally had an independent identity!
“An An.” Norman lowered his eyes to look at the little mermaid. It was the first time he had seen the little mermaid so excited.
An Jin smiled back at him, and thinking that he was still on the air, hurriedly collected his mind and thanked the secretary-general.
The secretary-general politely said that it was his job, then looked at the live ball and announced, “The live broadcast is over.”
An Jin hesitated for a moment and asked before the secretary-general left, “Can I get your communication number?”
After experiencing the intelligent creature judgment, he was confident that the rest of the mermaids would pass the judgment. However, he was not sure if the rest of the mermaids would be willing, and would have to discuss with them first.
There was a difference between group and individual adjudication, and if the mermaids also wanted to make an intelligent creature adjudication, with the secretary-general’s communication, he could consult with the secretary-general.
The secretary-general said, “Sure.”
Norman guessed An Jin’s intention and didn’t stop him, even though he didn’t want the young mermaid to exchange communications with someone else. After the exchange, the secretary-general left with the staff, and An Jin couldn’t help but check his identity information again, his eyes shining brightly.
Suddenly, his eyes swept over his personal account and he saw that the balance was already over five million. He was shocked, and only after checking his bill did he realize that the bet on “can mermaids learn to talk”, which he finished live last night, had already been settled.
The extra money was all earned by betting right!
Norman looked down, saw the betting settlement screen, his eyebrows wrinkled. “An An.”
An Jin rarely heard such a serious voice from him and hurriedly looked up at him.
Norman said in a deep voice, “Where did you learn to gamble online?”
An Jin felt that he was angry and explained, “I saw it when I was browsing Starnet, and since it was related to me, I placed a bet.”
In retrospect, he didn’t think it was a good idea to place a bet when he knew the outcome. He whispered, “Is there a way to give back the money I made? I, I’m not trying to cheat, I just felt superior because I know the answer.”
He said this, feeling more and more childish, and looked down in embarrassment.
Norman looked at the top of the little mermaid’s head and couldn’t help but feel chagrined that he seemed too stern. He rubbed the little mermaid’s hair and his voice was much gentler, “No need to return it, in fact…it’s okay if you like to play, but in moderation.”
An Jin looked up in surprise, and Norman added, “Later I will take you to play where there are more interesting bets to play.”
“…” An Jin thought to himself, Norman was clearly angry before, right? He whispered, “It’s a good thing I’m an adult and know what I’m doing, otherwise I’d be spoiled by you for sure.”
Norman’s eyes flashed with laughter, saw the little mermaid moving his tail, and thought of the little mermaid sitting for quite a long time. “I’ll take you back to the mermaid room?”
An Jin looked at the mobility scooter.
Norman didn’t quite approve. “Let your tail rest.” He reached out and picked up the little mermaid.
An Jin subconsciously grabbed his lapel, and when he reacted, he let go, but saw that the lapel was wrinkled by his grip, and he patted it with his palm, trying to smooth it out.
Norman’s body tensed slightly, and An Jin immediately noticed that the touch under his palm had become firmer. He quickly withdrew his hand, folded both hands on his abdomen, lowered his eyes, and explained in a whisper, “I, I just want to smooth out your clothes.”
Norman laughed lightly, and his chest obviously rose and fell a little. To An Jin next to him, the sound of laughter ran through the chest into the ears; it felt very special, a kind of vibration.
An Jin’s face can’t help but burn, and suddenly remembered: men can’t stand to be teased, especially single old men.
No! What was he thinking? He wasn’t flirting at all!
Besides, Norman was not old, he was only thirty-five, not old, right?
Norman put the little mermaid in the pool, and his eyes unintentionally swept over and saw the little mermaid’s transparent ears flushed. “What are you thinking about?”
“Old men.” The two little people in An Jin’s head were debating whether a thirty-five-year-old bachelor was an old man, and when he heard his question, he subconsciously said it. An Jin froze, eyes slightly open, and hurriedly explained, “Not you!”
“…” He couldn’t help but cover his face. He felt the more he explained, the worse it got!
Norman was stunned in place, old! Men?
His face became more and more serious, looking at the little mermaid’s scales beyond the white skin, sweeping over the little mermaid’s white and tender neck, and then thought of his wheat-colored skin. He had a pensive face, perhaps, in addition to finding a way to sleep in the water, but also to start applying a mask? Get a facial?
An Jin saw Norman silent, could not help but suspect that Norman was struck by him, and quickly said, “I really did not mean you, you are still very young, not old at all!”
Norman’s deep eyes looked at him. “You really think so?”
An Jin nodded heavily. “Yes!”
Norman was silent for a moment and pointed at his own face. “Would I look younger if I was paler?”
“…” An Jin wanted to laugh a little, but seeing his serious face, he also said seriously, “No, wheat skin, it suits you. Very handsome and good looking.”
Norman caught the point. “You think I’m handsome and good looking?”
An Jin nodded, it was true, and he admitted it openly.
Norman was happy inside, yet remembered that the little mermaid’s aesthetics seemed different from humans. He looked at the little mermaid. “Do you think, the system face you chose in the holographic world, is as good looking as me?”
An Jin was very confused. Is there a comparison?
After Becoming A Mermaid
