Bai Chunian had only a modest 100-square-meter apartment in the city. He was rarely home due to missions, making the small space feel empty. The living room coffee table was littered with half-eaten snacks and ashtrays brimming with cigarette butts.
He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, sat at the table, and drank half. He picked at the boxed meal he’d ordered last night, flipping on the TV to check the news, leaving the mermaid casually on the floor.
“Take off those wet wraps. They’ve absorbed water and are making a mess all over the floor,” Bai Chunian said between bites.
The mermaid listened earnestly, trying to understand and guessing Bai Chunian’s meaning, pointing to the bandages: “Gua?”
“If you can’t speak properly, don’t try. You think this makes you cute?”
The mermaid couldn’t fully understand Bai Chunian’s language, only catching familiar words and interpreting gestures and expressions to guess the alpha’s intent. To him, Bai Chunian’s words sounded like: “%@＜－【％[email protected]）you＜+－％%×－very cute%+.”
So the mermaid nodded and flicked the tip of his slender tail, making a heart gesture at Bai Chunian.
Bai Chunian wiped his face in exasperation.
The mermaid was clumsy on land. He wriggled to the edge of the coffee table, scanning the items, settling on Bai Chunian’s half-empty water bottle. After examining it, he aggressively bit into the bottle and cap, tearing off half the plastic, then elegantly sipped the water, finishing the remaining half afterward.
Bai Chunian didn’t interfere.
After finishing the last bite, he bent down, grabbed the mermaid’s tail, and dragged him to the bathroom. Turning on the cold shower, he roughly rinsed the grime from the mermaid’s face.
The mermaid stayed as still as possible, cooperating quietly. But when Bai Chunian pulled scissors from a drawer to cut away the soaked bandages, the mermaid struggled.
Alpha strength was always greater, and Bai Chunian gripped the mermaid’s wrist firmly: “Don’t move. Gross. Cut it off and wrap it clean again.”
The bandages were mostly for moisture on land, keeping the mermaid’s skin from drying out, cracking, or sunburn.
The mermaid froze at the sharp blades, recoiling. Their strength was roughly equal; even as an alpha, Bai Chunian couldn’t fully overpower him. The mermaid not only freed his hand but accidentally swiped Bai Chunian’s face during the struggle, almost like slapping him.
“Lanbo!”
“Huh?” The mermaid hadn’t used much force and didn’t realize he’d done anything wrong. He froze at Bai Chunian’s sharp tone.
Bai Chunian’s expression darkened. He tossed a bundle of bandages from the first aid kit: “Fine. Do it yourself.”
Bai Chunian wasn’t used to baths. Without a bathtub, he filled the washing machine so the mermaid could soak safely, preventing dehydration, and closed the door to watch TV.
The news interrupted with coverage of the suburban amusement park explosion. Medics covered corpses trapped under debris, moving them one by one, while police and firefighters set up a perimeter to maintain order.
Bai Chunian had been a special operations commander in the Alliance for three years; designing escape routes while avoiding or disabling every surveillance device was second nature to him. No one could trace even the faintest clue.
His phone, lying nearby, flashed twice. The contact was labeled “Boss”—President Yan Yi calling. Bai Chunian considered for a moment, then took a deep breath and answered.
Yan Yi’s voice was serious: “Where are you?”
“At home,” Bai Chunian replied quietly.
“You brought a special experimental subject home and removed his suppressor without authorization?”
“Yes. So what?” Bai Chunian said impatiently. “I’ve worn that thing. It’s excruciating.”
“You’ve seen how dangerous he is. Take him back to the Alliance lab immediately for examination. Special experimental subjects’ destructive power is uncontrollable.”
“He’s pretty obedient.” Bai Chunian absently flicked ash from a cigarette in the ashtray, and after a while pressed his lips together, assuring, “I’m watching him. He won’t go out and break things.”
“Xiao Bai, do you want me to issue a capture order?”
“…”
Just as Bai Chunian was thinking of how to stall Yan Yi, another call came in. He glanced at the screen, then quickly laughed and said to Yan Yi: “Boss, Uncle Jin needs me for something urgent. I’ll call you back later.”
Before Yan Yi could finish, Bai Chunian hung up. Barely catching his breath, another call came from Lu Shangjin.
“Uncle Jin, what’s up?” Bai Chunian felt his head spinning from all the interruptions, rubbing his temples as he answered.
Lu Shangjin didn’t explain the situation but asked Bai Chunian to come to his company.
Weary, Bai Chunian grabbed his coat, removed his gun belt, and headed out with his car keys.
Lu Shangjin, current boss of the Eagle Group, was a heavyweight in the International Business Alliance and the alpha husband of President Yan Yi. For Bai Chunian, he was both a superior and an elder, who had often looked out for him; several million-dollar sports cars in the villa garage were gifts from Uncle Jin.
He found Lu Shangjin in his lounge, wearing a suit jacket, calmly reviewing documents over a cup of coffee at a rosewood desk.
“Sit anywhere. The office is empty today.” He had an assistant bring a plate of fresh-cut fruit to Bai Chunian. “Did Yan Yi assign you any tasks recently?”
Bai Chunian plucked a cherry with his silver skewer, replying vaguely: “Lots of miscellaneous tasks in the Alliance.”
“Alright, I’ll tell Yan Yan to give you a break,” Lu Shangjin smiled. “I need a favor from you.”
Bai Chunian raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead.”
Lu Shangjin pushed over a test registration list. “My son’s about to take the ATWL exam. He won’t listen to me. Most candidates are alphas; I worry that a little omega might get hurt, or at least have his pride damaged. As a dad, that pains me.”
The ATWL exam—Advanced Team Warfare Level—was a small-team event where all firearms and tools were allowed, survival for 48 hours meant passing, with bonus points for completing random missions. Candidates could fight each other; results depended entirely on skill.
Bai Chunian choked slightly. “You want me to take a student exam? I’d scare a bunch of kids crying.”
In reality, these exams weren’t fair. Wealthy families could hire skilled operatives to boost their children’s results—a whole paid service chain existed, though costly and inaccessible to ordinary families.
Lu Shangjin waved it off. “You’re not even twenty yourself. Don’t crush the kids; just watch over my son. Play along—don’t be too strong, act a little clumsy. Don’t hurt his pride.”
Bai Chunian thought for a moment. “Fine. But I have a favor too.”
Lu Shangjin hummed while flipping through papers.
“I have a friend who made a small mistake, hiding at my place. I’m worried the Boss will come take him back.” Bai Chunian lied effortlessly, “He’s strong. Your son’s team is short a few members; I can sneak him in. After 48 hours, maybe the Boss will calm down. A temporary solution, just for now.”
“What friend?”
Bai Chunian hedged: “He has no legs. Walking’s difficult.”
Lu Shangjin considered: “Oh… disabled. That’s pitiful. Fine, no problem. I’ll talk to Yan Yi. A disabled person shouldn’t be dragged around. That’s unreasonable.”
Bai Chunian exhaled in relief. He could deal with this temporarily and first check on the fish.
Opening his apartment door, he was hit by the scent of laundry detergent—and stepped squarely into a puddle.
Following the water, he reached the bathroom and froze.
Pushing the door open, a torrent of soap bubbles flew out, covering his face. On the floor lay an emptied bottle of Blue Moon detergent, foam everywhere, and Lanbo spinning inside the running washing machine.
“Ancient ancestor!” Bai Chunian pinched the bridge of his nose.