Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

Ye Tang glanced at the time on her personal terminal. She'd wasted quite a while arguing with the bird, so she quickly pushed the food cart out. Reaching the door, she turned back and added, "Flat-feathered birds are just not likable."

The temperature in Observation Zone 4 has dropped considerably.

Chi Heng also transformed into human form. He stood on the open ground at the foot of the stone mountain. His pair of crimson wings were not fully folded but half-open. Dark red light flowed through the veins of each feather, like magma that had cooled and then been reignited.

His human form was somewhere between a boy and a young man, with a flamboyant and passionate profile, slightly upturned eyes, and an undisguised smile on his lips. His whole being exuded the pride and brilliance unique to the Vermilion Bird Clan.

His mental breakdown value dropped from 93 to 82. Eleven points. Even for someone as naturally optimistic as Chi Heng, who would rather die than face the world, this number shocked him for the entire afternoon.

After finishing his lunch, he squatted on the rocky hill and stared at his mental energy monitoring bracelet for ten minutes, repeatedly confirming that the device was not broken.

Now, when he saw Ye Tang push the door open and come in, his smile was even brighter than at noon.

"Warden," he greeted him, his voice brimming with obvious excitement, "do you have a beastman?"

Ye Tang had just finished arguing with that flat-haired guy number three, and now she's run into another guy who immediately asked if she had a beast husband. It feels like today's topic has been given some strange KPI.

She handed the lunchbox to Chi Heng and replied weakly, "I'm only eighteen, not an adult yet, I don't need a beastly husband."

Chi Heng took the lunchbox but didn't eat immediately. He gently flapped his wings behind him, creating a warm breeze. He took a step forward, folding his wings so that Ye Tang could see his human form.

The Vermilion Bird Clan is renowned among beastmen for its beauty, and Chi Heng is the most outstanding member of the clan. His features are exquisite yet heroic, his eyes are bright and passionate, and when he smiles, he is like a radiant, glowing being.

He spoke very seriously, as if introducing something extremely important: "You are indeed still young, but you're old enough to find a beastman. How about it, how about considering me as your beastman?"

Youlie let out a low, extremely restrained sound, squeezed out from between his teeth, from behind Yetang.

He took a step forward, his silver-gray wolf body blocking between Ye Tang and Chi Heng. His gray-blue eyes were fixed on Chi Heng, and the fluctuations of his spiritual power pressed precisely on Chi Heng alone. His words carried an undeniable declaration.

"Chiheng, she is the female I have my eye on."

Chi Heng raised an eyebrow, but he did not back down.

His mental response was equally crisp and decisive, carrying the innate pride and nonchalance of the Vermilion Bird Clan: "Imperial law stipulates that a female must have at least three beast husbands. You alone cannot handle it."

Ghost Hunter clenched his teeth for a moment. He couldn't refute it. Imperial law did indeed stipulate that females must have at least three beastmen, based on the dual considerations of female scarcity and protecting the stability of male mental strength.

His mother had four beast husbands, which made her a representative of monogamy among beastmen. It was impossible for him to monopolize all of Ye Tang's marriage contracts unless he wanted to break the law.

But at least, at least he could guarantee that he would have her time. He silently pondered this thought in his mind, while continuing to use his mental power to pressure Chi Heng, and using his body to block Ye Tang so that she would not notice this silent confrontation.

Ye Tang was completely unaware of the covert competition taking place between the two S-rank beastmen. She was simply pondering Chi Heng's suggestion, and then asked what she considered the most practical and important question.

"Do you have money?"

A distinct look of bewilderment crossed Chi Heng's face. He blinked. He, the young patriarch of the Vermilion Bird Clan, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. At his coming-of-age ceremony, his father gifted him an entire volcanic mine. His businesses spanned energy and military industries. He had never been asked "Do you have money?" in his entire life. The question was too basic, too simple, so much so that he didn't know how to answer it for a moment.

Looking at his bewildered expression, Ye Tang, based on her years of experience as a corporate slave, came to a conclusion: This guy has no money.

The reason is simple—rich people, when asked if they have money, will directly say yes without hesitation. Only poor people stammer when asked about their finances.

She brushed off non-existent dust from her uniform, turned and pushed the food cart away, her tone crisp and decisive: "No way, I don't care. I can tell she's broke."

Chi Heng stood there, holding a lunchbox, wings half-spread, mouth slightly open, watching Ye Tang walk out of the security gate. This was the first time in his life that a female had thought he was broke. Should he have the tribe fax him his asset certificates?

The water in the pool in Observation Zone 5 shimmered under the lights.

When Ye Tang pushed open the door, she finally saw Cang Ming's face. The mermaid floated on the water, her upper body resting on the stone platform by the pool, her arms crossed, her chin resting on her arms, her fishtail swaying silently in the water. Her long, wet golden hair was draped over her shoulders and back, the ends of which hung in the water like melting sunlight.

His features were combined in an almost unreal proportion—high but not sharp brow bones, a straight nose, and soft yet distinct lips.

What makes it most captivating are his sea-blue eyes. That blue cannot be simply described by a color label; it is the coexistence of the darkness beneath the deep sea and the shimmering light above the surface in a single pair of eyes.

On this near-perfect face, due to the long-term mental struggle, there was an undisguised weariness and vulnerability in his eyes. That vulnerability, falling on his face, became a kind of beauty that made people hold their breath.

Ye Tang stood by the pond, looking down at Cang Ming, somewhat stunned. She didn't consider herself a fangirl—in her past life, she only followed fictional characters; she had never been attracted to any real-life male celebrities.

But the mermaid before her forced her to admit that she was attracted to beauty. Not the kind of attraction that comes from wanting to be in a romantic relationship, but a pure appreciation for the ultimate creation.

"Warden Wild," Cangming slightly raised his head, his sea-blue eyes meeting hers, his voice cool yet tinged with a hint of languor, "Am I handsome?"

"Beautiful." Ye Tang nodded and blurted out, "A prodigy."

Cangming smiled. When he smiled, his eyes curved, and his aloof and distant temperament melted away in an instant into something softer and warmer.

But the next second his smile vanished, his face hardened, and he asked in a tone of settling scores, "Then why did you use a fishing net to catch me?"

Ye Tang choked for a moment. Sure enough, this merman still held a grudge. She quickly organized her thoughts, deciding to take the honest approach, and shrugged:

"Uh—who told you not to come out of the water? I was doing this for work. The boss said you haven't surfaced for eleven days, and if you don't come up soon, your lungs will fail. I called you from the door for ages, but you ignored me. What could I do? I couldn't exactly jump in and fish you out, could I? I can't swim."

Cangming was silent for a moment. He found himself unable to refute her. He had indeed heard her shouts over the pager; he simply didn't want to pay attention to anyone at the time. And this female, this female with almost no mental strength, had chosen a method that he still found unbelievable, yet he couldn't bring himself to say a harsh word about.

Taking advantage of his silence, Ye Tang's courage swelled again. Her gaze shifted from his face to the water, where the enormous fish tail swayed gently underwater. Its deep blue to silver-white gradient scales shimmered like jewels in the ripples, each scale perfectly smooth with a slightly translucent edge. In her past life, when she went to the aquarium to see mermaid shows, even the plastic fish tails cost several hundred yuan for a ticket; this one was real. Alive. And it could move.

"Um—" she whispered, her voice trembling with a guilty conscience, "May I touch your fish tail?"

Cangming's smile froze.

In that instant, his brain confirmed the meaning of the sentence from three different dimensions.

In the courtship rituals of the Abyss royal family, touching with a fish tail is equivalent to a marriage proposal; it is not dating or flirting, but a marriage proposal.

Only couples who have entered into a marriage contract can touch each other's fish tails.

He had lived for three hundred years, which, in the sea race, was merely the beginning of his youth. Yet, even in the long history of sea race civilization, no female had ever dared to ask to touch his fishtail on their first meeting. Did she know? No, she definitely didn't know; if she knew, she wouldn't have asked. But even if she didn't know, even if she didn't—

Cangming flicked its fish tail, splashing a large spray of water from the pool, drenching Yetang and Youlie, who was squatting behind her, from head to toe.

"Fine, I won't let you touch me then—" Ye Tang wiped the water from her face, her hair sticking wetly to her forehead, her uniform also soaked. She pushed the food cart out in a disheveled manner, muttering resentfully, "Stingy."

Cangming turned his back and sank into the water, leaving only half of his head and a pair of eyes above the surface. His long hair floated on the water like golden seaweed, covering most of his face, but his ears, hidden among the strands of hair, had a thin, translucent fin-like membrane on the sides in his mermaid form. Normally pale blue, it turned a pale pink after becoming congested with blood.