Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 301 The Little Mermaid

The superior room that Li Wei rented naturally had a bathroom, and even a bathtub. The bathtub was quite large, enough for two people to enjoy a romantic swim together.

I guess that's why it grew so big back then.

But now...

"Splash... splash..."

Watching the mermaid wagging her tail in the bathtub, Li Wei crossed his arms and looked on with curiosity.

Bringing the mermaid back wasn't difficult at all; Li Wei simply carried her back. Since there was [unconscious control], no one else could see it.

The only downside is that... if you just carry it on your shoulder, looking at that huge fish tail, Li Wei really might get lost.

Fortunately, Li Wei wasn't a fisherman and didn't have the gene for getting lost, otherwise he would have had to carry this mermaid around the hotel entrance for hours.

Such a big fish, weighing dozens of kilograms.

It would be such a waste not to get lost for half a day or a whole day.

But mermaids are indeed rare.

Looking at the mermaid spinning around in the bathtub, Li Wei was somewhat—unsure how to put it.

There are also legends of mermaids in this world, although they are not quite the same as the mermaid princesses in fairy tales.

In the legends of this world, mermaids aren't called mermaids, but water fairies. The story of the water fairy is similar to that of the Little Mermaid. It is said that in a lake, there was a water fairy who fell in love with a human prince and wanted to become human. So the water fairy went to the witch in the forest, who said she could make the water fairy human, but in exchange for her beautiful singing voice, she would become mute.

Even so, the water nymph was determined to try, so she gave up her voice and became human. At dawn, a prince who came hunting came to the lake, saw the water nymph who had become human, fell in love with her, and took her back to his castle.

The prince originally intended to marry the water nymph, but he was troubled by her inability to speak. His servants suspected it was due to witchcraft and believed their relationship would not last. And indeed it did. The prince noticed a foreign princess who had been invited to her wedding, so he abandoned the water nymph and proposed to the other princess, leaving the water nymph heartbroken.

Seeing her child suffer, the water nymph's mother emerged from the lake, denouncing the prince's betrayal, and took the water nymph away. The prince, horrified by the scene before him, collapsed to the ground and tried to seek help from the foreign princess, but was met with her mockery.

Upon returning to the lake, the water nymph had lost her original powers. The witch then told her that if she killed the prince, she could regain her soul and powers. However, the water nymph refused this offer; although she hated the prince's betrayal, she couldn't bring herself to take his life.

Just then, the prince returned to the lakeside, confessed to the water nymph, begged for her forgiveness, and offered his life. The water nymph embraced the prince and gave him a final kiss. The prince died in her arms, and the water nymph regained her original form. She thanked the prince for allowing her to experience human love, and thus offered his soul to the great Lord, while she herself returned to the bottom of the lake.

Well, how should I put it... if I had to say, the ending of this story is better than The Little Mermaid's.

The ending of the Little Mermaid's story was quite frustrating.

Incidentally, the mermaids in this world are called water fairies because, according to legend, they are water spirits born when the Holy Lord transformed into all things in heaven and earth. Each water fairy represents a stream, river, lake, or sea.

Of course, this is just a story, not reality. Otherwise, given the tragic state of that river in Chongqing, if there really were a Narcissus, she would probably have been furious long ago.

But now... at least Li Wei can't just treat this as a story anymore.

It must be said that this narcissus—or rather, mermaid—is quite beautiful, with long, flowing emerald green hair, azure eyes, and in the water she looks like a seaweed drifting with the current, and her skin is as delicate as white sand.

Well, at least we can be sure this person isn't from Africa.

However, this mermaid wasn't very old, probably only ten years old, and her size was about the same as a dolphin. That's why Li Wei was able to put her in the bathtub.

Although she doesn't seem like a dolphin or whale that would die out of the water, who knows?
This is the first time Li Wei has ever raised a mermaid, isn't it?

As for food, Li Wei experimented for a day and found that she preferred vegetarian food. She ate fruits and vegetables with great relish. Of course, she would also eat grilled fish, but she didn't really like raw fish. She also didn't eat meat, neither raw nor cooked.

Well, that's normal, after all, they're not piranhas or great white sharks.

However, communicating with this person is quite difficult.

Although mermaids are said to be able to talk, this one is indeed unable to speak, only able to make "ah ah ah" sounds. However, her voice is quite beautiful, somewhat like the kind of voice with built-in electronic music, like an opera singer or soprano. It seems that the saying that mermaids have beautiful singing voices is indeed true.

As for intelligence... it seems about the same as a child's, but because he couldn't understand what she was saying, communication with her was a bit difficult for Li Wei. Fortunately, this merman was very friendly to him. In fact, the reason Li Wei brought her back was because he asked her a few questions after seeing her.

Can you understand me?

nod.

Do you want to leave here?

She nodded. So Li Wei carried her back, and the little mermaid obediently clung to Li Wei the whole way, not moving an inch.

Li Wei asked her for a long time about why she ended up in that water tank before he finally understood. It seemed that she had been found unconscious on the beach and then put into that big iron box and brought here.

As for more complicated questions... well, she can't write, so she can't answer them either.

However, this should be the rumored grand finale item of the auction that the editorial department collected.

Li Wei wasn't stupid. Looking at the mermaid before him, he understood after a moment's thought. This creature was kept deep within the zoo, clearly because only a zoo had the necessary facilities; otherwise, there would be nowhere else to put it. Li Wei had also asked the little mermaid what she thought of those gangsters, but she just shook her head vigorously.

It's clear that they dislike it quite a bit.

What should we do next? Release her back into the wild?
Watching the little mermaid rolling around in the bathtub, Levi began to think. He still had a case to investigate in Caesarblanca, and he couldn't possibly carry a mermaid around everywhere. However, Levi had also looked at the map beforehand, and there didn't seem to be any lakes or rivers nearby.

There were sewers, though Li Wei knew that even he himself wouldn't want to go in them.

Compared to Li Wei, who was deep in thought, the little mermaid was carefree. She turned on the tap, seemingly curious as to why water could flow from the pipe. When she touched it, she found it was hot water, which startled her so much that she shrank back, her tail slapping against the water's surface.

Yes, he's a very mischievous child.

"Don't play in the water, be careful of getting burned."

Li Wei turned off the tap, said a few words to the little mermaid, who stared at him with her big blue eyes, nodded, and then sank back to the bottom of the water to blow bubbles.

So, this is how she slept after coming back last night. She truly lives up to her mermaid reputation; she can stay in the bathtub for ten hours without any problems. And she's quite obedient, too. While the bathtub is large for a little mermaid, it's quite cramped for most people. It's remarkable that she stayed in it so well without complaining or getting tired.

Even if she called out, she probably wouldn't understand.

"Dong dong dong."

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Hearing the knock, Li Wei was startled, then reached out and pressed his hand against the Persuader at his waist before going to the door.

"who is it?"

"Hello, guest, here is a letter from a gentleman."

Li Wei used his [Soul Vision] to check and, after confirming that no one else was outside, opened the door. There stood a maid holding a silver tray with a letter on it.

This is pretty much how you find out where the exorbitant room fees for the superior rooms go.

Although it was meaningless to Li Wei.

"Thank you."

Li Wei didn't ask who sent it. He reached for the letter on the plate and nodded to the maid. But the maid didn't turn to leave. Instead, she looked around and then back at Li Wei.

"Mr. Li Wei, you have a piece of clothing in laundry room 217. Please come and pick it up if you have time."

I don't recall ever hiring a laundry service.

Li Wei mentally complained, but just by looking at the maid's expression, he could pretty much guess the reason.

"Okay, I know."

Upon hearing Li Wei's reply, the maid turned and left. Li Wei then closed the door, opened the letter, and took out the letter inside.

Well, the content above is quite simple, just a short sentence inviting Li Wei to meet tonight. The name of the person making the invitation is not written, but Li Wei can guess who sent him the letter.

It's obvious that the other party chose to come to me proactively because they found that force wouldn't work, so they had to resort to diplomacy? Then, what methods do they intend to use against me? Moreover, the paper says that Li Wei can choose the location himself; isn't this a subtle way of showing off their strength?
Is this a trap? Or is there another motive?

We'll only know when the time comes.

As for now…

Li Wei glanced at the bathroom; the little mermaid was still rolling around and bubbling inside, having a great time.

I should go check what's wrong with the clothes I washed first.

(End of this chapter)