Chapter 1742: Mermaid Rearing Guide 14

Night.

A long-lost memory surged back, wreaking havoc in the dream.

Those sharp tentacles turned into monsters, claws bared, occupying every space, slimy and disgusting.

Next came firelight and blood, mixed with unidentifiable chunks of flesh, blowing up the whole room and oozing yellowed fat.

In the dream, it seemed the things that matched disgust and fear weren't about to be left behind, rushing to appear before Lin Juan one after another.

Struggling to wake, there was no scream, no fearful reaction.

Lin Juan lowered his eyes, lingered a while, then checked the time: it was only two a. m.

He no longer wanted to sleep, whether from the icy chill all over or the aversion to seeing those dream things again.

He even felt an urgent desire to leave this place.

Lin Juan suddenly lowered his head, took a deep breath, rose, and opened the door connecting the inner chamber to the office.

A white shadow flashed before Lin Juan.

He looked warily and suspiciously at the Breeding Chamber, only to see Jin Chen blinking at him.

"What was that?" Lin Juan asked, his voice still hoarse from just waking.

"Nothing, I don't know." Jin Chen shook his head.

【Ahhhhh, I'm scared to death!】

Ling Gun Gun rolled about in fright, its wet fur a bit tangled; it sulkily licked itself, 【I said don't come out in the middle of the night, you still made me bathe—I'm not dirty at all, why bathe!】

It feels like the Host has turned childish!

Jin Chen wouldn't have any of it.

"Juan, feeling unwell?" Jin Chen swam to the cabin entrance and asked.

"No."

Lin Juan instinctively denied it, yet failed to notice how pallid his face was; his long fingers pressed his brow, and he said softly, "You should rest—I'll go upstairs to get some documents… the very papers you chewed."

Worried the mermaid wouldn't understand what "documents" meant, Lin Juan thoughtfully changed the term.

Not the slightest bit feeling like a fool, Jin Chen nodded and saw Lin Juan out of the office.

Then he dragged out Ling Gun Gun to continue washing.

"No… glub glub…"

The Pixiu lord, pressed into the water, wore a look of utter hopelessness.

Base Control Room.

Xu Yi had done plenty of research for tonight's incursion into the Control Room.

First, the timing, terrain, and human factors aligned: today the island saw a rare downpour, humidity spiking, possibly prompting marine life to flee, so most of the Hunting Team and Patrol Team were stationed at the Marine Life Breeding Building.

Thus the keepers had a rare spell of downtime, no need to stand constant watch, and coincidentally the personnel in charge of patrolling the Control Room floor were led by You Zhuoran.

The You Team had, two hours ago, just finished eating the friendship-brand stuffed egg tarts he made, and were probably still squatting in the toilet.

Xu Yi sneaked into the Control Room, confident he could obtain clues, the access card likewise borrowed from the You Team.

Ten minutes later, Xu Yi drew a deep breath and hastily clapped a hand over his mouth.

He was scared stiff.

He saw the list of those scheduled for surgery, with Number Seventeen highlighted in red, plus over fifty other high‑intelligence animals!

The pairings for fusion were even stranger and more eerie—just imagining them tells what kind of monsters would result.

Yet the thought that they could go so berserk as to fuse humans and high‑intelligence animals—rabbit‑people, deer‑people, bird‑people—makes one's skin crawl.

"This isn't saving the Blue Planet; it's practically speeding its demise."

Xu Yi muttered his complaints, covertly noting down every list; no matter what, he had to help the high‑intelligence animals here escape before surgery began.

Xu Yi also forwarded a copy of the list to a new ally via the reporter‑specific communicator he had secretly given Jin Chen today.

Afterward, in a certain highly important high‑transparency intelligent safe box, he saw a key; before he could figure out how to open it, he suddenly heard a disturbance outside.

Xu Yi instantly switched off his flashlight, turned his head in fright, and was immediately seized by the shoulder.

Xu Yi shuddered; just as he made out You Zhuoran's face, he was shoved beneath the experimental table, his breathing gone awry, and he dared not move while hiding there.

"Doctor Lin, what are you doing here?"

You Zhuoran turned sideways, blocking the experimental table, and eyed dubiously as Lin Juan entered with the light switched on.

Lin Juan didn't answer; instead he frowned at You Zhuoran, a silent question.

"Ah, I'm on patrol tonight; I swung by to see if there are any new experiments so I can reassign the teams." You Zhuoran explained first.

Lin Juan grunted, his gaze sweeping suspiciously past You Zhuoran's back, and said softly, "The You Team's eyesight is fine—they can read the experimental data even without the lights on."

You Zhuoran: "……"

Lin Juan walked straight past You Zhuoran, stopped at the experimental table, opened a drawer to rummage for the needed documents, and was less than a meter from Xu Yi hiding under the table.

Xu Yi slowed his breathing, his heart pounding hard, terrified Lin Juan would spot him; in the corner he silently jabbed the communicator, sending the first distress signal to his ally.

Meanwhile, Jin Chen, lying on the Shell Bed and perusing the list, flicked the screen a few times and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What a coincidence."

"Fine, it's for the side quest."

Jin Chen readied himself, swam upward, gathered force with his tail, and slammed into the Breeding Chamber entrance, successfully triggering the monitor.

He faced the glowing object and complained resentfully, "Honey, it's so late—why aren't you back?"

Lin Juan's rummaging paused; he frowned, pressing the monitor earpiece, not bothering to wonder how Jin Chen knew of the monitor's existence.

"I feel awful."

Jin Chen's voice was weak and feeble, as if he might faint any second.

Although a certain mermaid had once feigned faint to trick him, Lin Juan still clutched his heart uncontrollably as the sound grew fainter, a sharp ache piercing him.

Lin Juan quickly picked up the retrieved materials, walked away briskly, glanced at You Zhuoran when passing him, "Team You, take responsibility for your patrol."

"Of course." You Zhuoran nodded, voice low: "You need not trouble Doctor Lin with safety matters."

Xu Yi, who had been under the table, finally released his breath, pressing down on his heart that was about to explode.

"I was scared to death."

Suddenly the table was knocked, "Come out."

Xu Yi hesitated, then crawled out from under the table, lifted his head and met You Zhuoran's gaze.

"... Ha, good evening, Team You."

Lin Juan quickly walked into the elevator, staring at the illuminated floor numbers, thinking.

If Jin Chen deceives him again this time, then Jin Chen will not be allowed to leave the Breeding Chamber for seven days, not even to come out and relieve boredom.