Survival at Sea: My Warship is a Rubber Duck?

Chapter 88 tide Li

Chapter 88 tide Li

She looked quite young, about thirteen or fourteen years old, yet she showed none of the timidity or reserve typical of noblewomen.

She lifted the hem of her magnificent skirt, embroidered with intricate coral and pearl patterns, and stood before two beautiful women...

Accompanied carefully by a composed merman maid, they walked straight over with light steps.

She stopped beside the table, tilted her little face up, and asked directly, "Excuse me, are you the visitors from beyond the boundary that Great-Great-Great-Grandpa mentioned? Do you speak the Common Language?"

Zhang Xinlan was taken aback by the direct question. After thinking for a moment, she cautiously replied, "I guess so."

Yu Wang nodded in agreement.

After all, it can understand what it hears and sees, and its spoken words can be automatically translated by the game system into a form that the other party can understand. Rounding up, it can indeed be considered to "know" the common language.

As royalty among the fish-people, the little princess possesses pure blood, yet she lacks the distinct characteristics of any particular fish species. For instance, she has none of the following: a complete fish head, fins on either side of her chin, or reflective mucus. Instead, she has three colorful fish scales at the corners of her eyes, making her overall appearance more akin to the legendary merfolk.

One theory suggests that merfolk and sea monsters were the same race many years ago, but the latter split off due to their worship of the Lord of Greed and ended up living in darkness.

Of course, some say that merfolk and sea monsters are completely different creatures, but they just happen to look alike, like goats or sheep.

Yu Wang never fully understood the specific differences and connections between the three.

Since we don't encounter each other in daily life, and even if we do meet in dungeons, we usually just call each other by name, and there are very few awkward conversations like "Guess what ethnicity I am".

However-

"Great! I have so many questions!" The little princess blinked her large, clear, and bright eyes, adorned with colorful scales, and asked suddenly with a hint of mischief, "Guess what race I am?"

Yu Wang: "—You can read minds?"

This was truly surprising; he had never known that the Fishman royal family possessed such an ability!

"I can only do a little bit! It's not very stable yet." The little princess held up her pinky finger, grinning and a hint of pride in her voice. She patted her chest, "Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret! My mouth is sealed tight!"

She seemed full of curiosity about Wang and Zhang Xinlan, these "visitors from another world," and asked one question after another: "How did you get here? Traveling between worlds must be very difficult, right? How long will you stay here? I asked my great-great-great-grandfather, but he wouldn't tell me."

Zhang Xinlan answered this question by saying, "We don't know either. We just opened our eyes and found ourselves here."

The little princess looked at Yu Wang again, and Yu Wang shrugged: "I don't know the inside story either."

I thought the little princess would be disappointed, but she immediately gave me an "I understand" look: "Yes, I get it! It seems it was your human gods who sent you here! My great-great-great-grandfather was like that, he would suddenly throw a part of his people into the sea without saying why, and they would always catch the bad guys polluting the environment nearby!"

She suddenly remembered she hadn't introduced herself yet, and quickly said, "Oh, I forgot to mention, my name is tide Li! tide as in tide, Li as in glass! And you?"

"Yu Wang. This is Zhang Xinlan," Yu Wang introduced simply.

Perhaps influenced by the potential "compensation from the humic wet nurse," coupled with Princess Xili's inherent friendliness and curiosity towards Wang and Zhang Xinlan.

Adding to that the "environmental guardian badge" on Yu Wang's body, in tide Li's eyes, Yu Wang was completely "her own fish"!

The conversation ranged from all corners of the world. From traditional festivals in the human world to the thrilling and interesting stories of the fish-men hunting in the deep sea, and then to the bizarre seafood they had encountered—as they chatted, the atmosphere became increasingly harmonious and lively, filled with laughter.

tide Li waved her hand, signaling her guards and servants to step back and give them more privacy.

She leaned close to Yu Wang's ear, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Big brother, you're here. Is there something wrong with this store? I used to feel uncomfortable in this store, but that feeling is gone now."

"It did exist before, but now, it's uncertain."

From their seats, they could see part of the kitchen. From the beginning, employees who had been eating until their bellies were round and full, with soup overflowing from their mouths, were being carried out one after another. I would conservatively estimate that there were more than seven of them.

tide Li immediately understood what he meant, covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes curving into beautiful crescent moons.

However, Yu Wang felt that since he had taken on the title of "environmental guardian," he should live up to the meaning symbolized by the badge.

And—since we're already here…

"Since we're here, we should still check things out to be considered responsible." And while we're at it, we'll get some extra free snacks and jelly for Iris.

I wonder if "Guo Di Lao" was inspired by snacks from the human world, as its jelly and potato chips taste almost exactly like those of Astronaut and Piccolo.

Furthermore, the next raid location will be in the Mermaid's territory.

Spending more time with the little princess might get her some outside help. Yu Wang thought wildly and then remembered the content of the dungeon. He secretly thought that maybe the little princess was the mastermind behind the dungeon.

Upon hearing the news, the fat beaver manager practically tumbled over. When he saw that it was the esteemed Princess Xili personally accompanying him, along with the human environmental inspector, cold sweat instantly soaked the fur on his back.

What was bound to happen has finally happened!

Success or failure hinges on this!

He put in his best effort, personally acting as a guide, introducing each facility with a beaming smile.

Yu Wang pretended to inspect, occasionally asking a question or two, making the fat beaver manager sweat. He answered fluently but cautiously.

tide Li, like a little supervisor, stood with her hands behind her back, looking here and smelling there. Every place she pointed to made the beaver manager's heart jump!

Because the places pointed to by the little princess were, without exception, places where garbage, oily barrels, and rat carcasses had been secretly piled up and not disposed of in time!

Although it has been cleaned up urgently, who knows if any odor or inconspicuous traces have been left behind?

While wiping his sweat, he cursed the employee in charge of that area a thousand times in his mind, and at the same time frantically signaled to the few junior managers following behind him to check again carefully and make sure it was flawless!

During the inspection, Yu Wang did not forget his "real business".

He used the pretext of sending food for testing to obtain several large bags of beautifully packaged, substantial, and varied free snacks and ready-to-eat meal kits.

The food piled up like a small mountain was enough to last Yu Wang and Zhang Xinlan for more than a month!

Although the fat beaver manager was heartbroken, how could he dare to utter a single word of dissent?

Instead, they diligently helped with the packing, hoping to get the two of them off as soon as possible.

Finally, the inspection was completed, and everyone was happy. tide Li had a great time.

With a sigh of relief, Manager Fatty saw them off as Yu Wang and his group left "Guo Di Lao".

At the dock, tide Li held onto Yu Wang and Zhang Xinlan's hands reluctantly, "Brother Yu Wang, Sister Zhang, you must come and play with me!"

Her big eyes were full of reluctance. "Next time I'll take you to even more fun places! I know a huge underwater coral maze! And an octopus that spits out pearl coins! And also—if we have the chance, I'll take you riding swordfish!! It's so fast and exciting!"

She waved her little fists excitedly, clearly having long yearned for the activity of "riding a swordfish".

Those swordfish have to go on missions with the patrol boats, so there are very few idle fish for her to ride around with.

Looking into her expectant eyes, and recalling the upcoming group instance that might open in the Mermaid Territory, Yu Wang nodded firmly, his tone resolute: "There will definitely be an opportunity. And it won't be long."

This is not just polite consolation, but a clear assessment of future developments.

The next raid instance will be related to swordfish.

Upon hearing this, tide Li's eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded vigorously: "Yes! I'll be waiting for you!"

The Little Yellow Duck train slowly drove away.

tide Li walked back to the luxuriously decorated cabin, which was covered with soft sea velvet carpets.

In one corner of the cabin, there is a lifelike statue of an old man carved from a single piece of warm, lustrous jade.

The old man had a kind yet dignified face, wore a crown inlaid with huge pearls, and held a trident that symbolized authority. He was the "great-great-great-grandfather" that tide Li had mentioned.

A long-deceased but highly respected ancestor of the Merfolk royal family.

tide Li walked to the statue, sat down cross-legged, rested her chin on her hands, and whispered to the statue, "Grandpa, look, I've made human friends! Real friends! Not those guys who come to ask for favors."

"Their names are Yu Wang and Zhang Xinlan, and they're from another world! That Yu Wang brother is amazing, he—uh, I can't say. And he has a really nice scent—"

"You kept your word," she wrinkled her little nose and made a face at the statue. "This time when I made friends, you didn't suddenly blast a cold wind to scare me like you used to, reminding me to be mindful of my status and keep my distance!"

"So you're tacitly agreeing this time too?"

tide Li talked to herself for a long time, but the statue did not answer. It just stood there quietly, its face appearing even more benevolent under the soft light of the luminous pearl.

Inside the cabin of the Little Yellow Duck at that time.

Zhang Xinlan lay flat on her back on the floor, completely unconcerned about her appearance. One hand rested lightly on her noticeably rounder belly, her face showing a mixture of satisfaction and pain. Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling, and she uttered a muffled groan: "I can't take it anymore—I really can't fit another bite in my mouth—"

Thinking of Yu Wang's seemingly kind demeanor towards all teenagers, he joked, "Oh my—I never expected this—I had my suspicions when I met Lin Che, and now I can finally be sure!"

Yu Wang was sorting through the snacks he'd collected: "Definitely what?"

"You like kids! Right? Whether they're teenagers or toddlers, you're incredibly patient with them, and your temper is unbelievably good. Tsk tsk, I never knew you had such a kind, fatherly side, Boss Yu."

Yu Wang continued moving without even lifting his eyelids, and replied indifferently, "Speak less, save your energy for digestion."

Although his tone was calm, the slight upturn of his lips betrayed that he was not in a bad mood at the moment.

"I'm just stating the facts," Zhang Xinlan persisted, laughing. "You didn't see how you were just now, tsk tsk, you were so amiable—anyone who didn't know better would think you'd switched careers to become a kindergarten teacher."

"With so much energy, why don't you get up and move around a bit? Do a couple of sets of crunches; it'll help with digestion."