National destiny: Starting with a coffin, building an aircraft carrier is broadcast live globally.

On the crooked wooden sign hanging at the entrance, two lines of large, menacing characters were written.

He unconsciously read it aloud in a low voice:

"【'Mermaids Die' Potions and Groceries - Inquiry incurs an extra fifty yuan, bargaining will get you kicked out】?"

Ivan listened with amusement.

"This boss is interesting."

"The store's name is 'Mermaids, Die!' Do they have a grudge against you?!"

Deep within the purple seaweed forest stood a dilapidated house that looked like it had been converted from several overturned, abandoned cauldrons.

The roof was covered with anemone-like plants, and several crooked, transparent jars flickered in and out of the light.

Take a closer look.

It seemed like each jar contained a few tiny, glowing things, serving as light bulbs—

It just looks weak and listless; I don't know if it's malnourished.

"..."

Compared to machines, this thing doesn't need fuel, doesn't need maintenance, and can even take care of itself...

It's really environmentally friendly, and the maintenance cost is almost zero... It seems that living things are the most suitable for exploiting labor.

"This is a desecration of dignity."

Aurora whispered.

"Don't overthink it," Ren Yi replied casually. "You're not it, and it might not think the same way either."

The purple seaweed forest was dense and disorderly.

【Deep Sea Shadow】clung to the edge, using its unique camouflage to blend into its surroundings.

As a result, it had barely come to a stop for two seconds...

The shriveled pufferfish specimen hanging outside the door, drifting aimlessly, suddenly rolled its eyes and shouted in a voice as thick as a rusty door hinge:

"The fat sheep is here!"

"A great vengeful spirit! A fresh great vengeful spirit has arrived!"

The loud voice made the faintly glowing creatures in the hanging jars tremble violently.

next second.

The curtain was suddenly lifted a crack, but no one came out.

Instead, a gleaming boning knife shot out, whizzing past the porcupine's scalp and embedding itself in the rotten wooden board beside it.

The handle of the knife was still vibrating violently in the water, and the blade was less than a millimeter away from the pufferfish's bulging eyeball!

The screams stopped abruptly.

The pufferfish rolled its eyes, readily resigned itself to its fate, closed its mouth, and transformed back into a dutiful piece of seafood cured meat.

"This security system... works better than people..."

Ivan joked.

However, now that the ship has been discovered, there's no need to continue the camouflage, as it only consumes biological energy.

Remove the camouflage of the [Deep Sea Shadow] at will, and its massive outline will be revealed on the open ground.

He turned to look at the mermaids gazing longingly out through the transparent cabin.

We arrived at the destination.

These freeloaders should be put to good use now—

Release them.

The mermaids squeezed together through the bubble from the randomly opened 'door,' their clear eyes momentarily confused about what was going on.

"We've arrived. Everyone, feel free to go wherever you like," Ren Yi said casually and gently.

Green pointed uncertainly to his nose: "Boss... are you serious? We can really walk?"

Of course I'm serious. Do you think I'm going to keep you around to waste food?

Hundreds of pounds of meat disappeared in an instant!

He casually adjusted his hood. "Ah, but don't blame me for not warning you."

"Don't do bad things, and always remember the corporate culture of our Benevolent Society."

The mermaids all swallowed hard.

Corporate culture?

Green nudged Brown.

Brown blinked his misaligned eyes as he looked at the pufferfish, Blue.

Several pairs of fisheye lenses were frantically exchanging signals in mid-air:

"What the hell? What kind of culture is this? Are they collecting protection money?"

"You're asking me? Who should I ask?!"

"Stop talking nonsense, just agree now, or it'll be too late if he changes his mind and re-encloses us!"

Blue's stomach twitched, and he forced himself to stammer out:

"Yes, yes, we understand! We'll listen to our boss... We know, we understand! We'll brag wherever we go and never let our boss down!"

The other mermaids nodded repeatedly as if waking from a dream, their tails swishing like propellers.

In the blink of an eye.

Apart from Carlos, all the mermaids had fled, and the ship suddenly felt spacious.

Klaus walked over to Ren Yi's side, watching the hurried figures retreating:

"You're just letting it go so easily?"

Nod casually.

Those who have survived on the ship until now are already a result of selection.

They're not inherently bad; they're comfortable and their minds are still relatively clear.

According to Carlos's description,

The ruling class of the Deep Blue Kingdom seems to have descended into chaos. Killing these guys would only yield some evolution points and leave Carlos with a reputation for brutality.

But rather than keeping them as gluttons, it's better to let them out to be loudspeakers.

You don't necessarily have to establish any power here, but it's always good to cultivate a good reputation beforehand.

Consider it part of the planning.

"Ivan, stop looking and go with Carlos."

He casually bent his knuckles and tapped twice on the glass wall, interrupting Carlos's hesitation.

When Ivan's name was called, he immediately cracked his knuckles:

"Okay! I promise I'll get the boss out here."

Seeing Ivan's posture as if he was about to resort to violence, Carlos quickly grabbed his arm:

"Brother, listen to me... Granny Li has a terrible temper, and it really hurts when she hits fish with her cane. Be careful, and whatever you do, don't hit her!"

Otherwise, don't say I didn't stop you later!

Ivan ignored him and stepped out of the bubble of the Deep Sea Shadow, carrying his worries.

Carlos had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

"Grandma! Open the door, Grandma! It's me, Carlos!"

The green-haired mermaid floated in the sea, cautiously extending two fingers to push the door.

Before he could even utter his second sentence...

"Clang—Bang!"

Without warning, half of the broken wooden door sprang open from the inside, the force so great that it stirred up a stream of murky water, nearly flattening Carlos's high nose bridge.

A short figure squeezed out from behind the door.

Judging by appearance, he's at most 1.3 or 1.4 meters tall.

He was wrapped in a patched-up, or perhaps styled, gray-black tattered robe, the hem of which, seen from afar by the churning water, looked like a moldy mushroom.

Her back was severely hunched, her face was covered with deep wrinkles that could trap sea flies, her eyelids drooped, and she leaned on a twisted bone cane covered with unknown plants.

The most outrageous thing is...

She also had a pipe made from an unknown vertebra in her mouth.

On the seabed, the pipe was glowing with a scarlet light, and every now and then a few purple 'smoke' rings would float up.

Ivan instinctively gripped the axe tighter.

The moment the little old lady appeared, the seawater temperature plummeted, and even the direction of the current became chaotic.

Renyi sat idly in the [Deep Sea Shadow] observation cabin, resting his chin on one hand, quietly observing "Grandma Li".

The old lady's eyes were unusually large, with amber-colored whites and two vertical lines in the pupils.

Look down.

A short tail was faintly visible beneath the robe.

It doesn't have the large, fish-scale-like appearance of a mermaid, but rather extremely fine, silver scales, and its tail fin is a sharp, swallowtail shape.

Her ears...

It has no gills, nor round, translucent periosteum fins, but instead two sharp, feather-like wings covered with fine blood vessels!

Granny Li swept her amber-colored, beast-like eyes over Ivan.

Finally, our attention was drawn to the highly aggressively styled [Deep Sea Shadow]—

To be precise... it's on the figurehead of the ship 【Deep Sea Shadow】.

She raised her pipe and, with lightning speed, struck Carlos on the head.

With a "thump".

"Ouch!" The tall and strong Carlos clutched his head and curled up into a ball.

"You little rascal, getting a beating?"

Grandma Li's voice sounds a bit like fingernails scratching a blackboard:

"You dare bring land dwellers to cause trouble in my territory?"