Koda’s house wasn’t far from here; it was only a few minutes’ walk. Ouyang Xiaoli let Xia Yi inside before leaving the area.
Xia Yi barely acknowledged Koda.
Yesterday, Koda had asked him if he had a partner. His brother had told him that anyone who asked that question was a bad person, so he didn’t want to deal with Koda at all.
Koda tried to ingratiate himself: “Xia Yi, Big Brother said you love potato soup?”
Xia Yi secretly pricked up his ears. He was very hungry; he hadn’t eaten enough yesterday, and he’d only drunk half of his nutrient solution this morning.
Because it was so disgusting.
Koda patted his chest, appearing confident: “My house has potatoes! Look, I just brought some from my house!”
He presented them to Xia Yi.
Xia Yi stared at the cute potatoes, remembering the taste from last night, and involuntarily swallowed. But he wouldn’t let Koda get his way, so he looked away, deliberately avoiding eye contact with the potatoes!
Koda knew exactly what the little merman was thinking; he suppressed his excitement.
Big Brother was right.
The little merman was secretly proud and arrogant.
Koda took the potatoes to the kitchen. After washing and peeling them, he poked his head out of the kitchen and asked, “Xia Yi, how many potatoes do you want to eat?”
Xia Yi looked back at him.
Koda quickly said, “There are five potatoes in total. How many can you eat? It would be a waste if we cook too many and you can’t finish them.”
Xia Yi thought for a moment: “Two.”
Koda’s eyes instantly lit up; he grinned like a happy puppy: “Okay!”
Watching the little merman silently drinking his potato soup, Koda felt delighted.
He certainly hadn’t forgotten the purpose of his visit. Although Big Brother didn’t seem to care much, as a loyal fan and brother, Koda prioritized Big Brother’s lifelong happiness!
Xia Yi belched.
He shyly glanced at Koda.
Koda was completely charmed by the little merman’s soft and cute appearance; he clutched his chest, trying to appear calm and composed.
“That… Xia Yi,” Koda adopted the demeanor of a kind and gentle old father.
Xia Yi subtly shrank back.
Koda: “…”
Do I look like a bad guy?
There were five people on the ship last night. Xiao Mo and Tang Si were relatively less active and talkative than Koda. Perhaps because Koda was younger—around seventeen or eighteen—his personality was still somewhat impetuous and impulsive.
Of everyone, Koda was the most proactive towards Xia Yi, and Xia Yi had noticed.
Koda touched his nose: “Nothing. Let’s watch the news. You probably don’t know much about the Underground City and the Silver Sea Empire.”
Xia Yi nodded obediently.
Koda sighed inwardly. He couldn’t rush things; he had to take it slow.
Although the little merman was innocent and naive, and seemed easy to deceive, he couldn’t do anything unconscionable!
Koda reminded himself.
He turned on his brain-computer, projected a holographic image on the white wall opposite the sofa, and quickly searched for relevant keywords, introducing the situation to Xia Yi.
“We can only search for information about the Underground City. We can’t receive signals from the Silver Sea Empire, and we know very little about them…”
“But if you want to learn about the Silver Sea Empire, I can ask Big Brother for information later.”
Koda slowly brought up some news and images of the Underground City, pointing and saying, “Look, this child is rummaging through garbage for food.”
Pausing, he said, “There’s no way around it. For some reason, the soil in the Underground City can’t grow potatoes or crops.”
“Many people are starving.”
“And this picture… this slave’s leg was broken.” Koda’s voice became melancholic. He chuckled, “…I used to get beat up in alleys. Thankfully, I met Big Brother, and my life got much better after that.”
Koda introduced many aspects of the Underground City to Xia Yi, focusing entirely on the grim realities.
Because he couldn’t find anything good to say about it.
Koda fell silent.
After a long time, he finally spoke: “See, there are so many bad people in the Underground City.”
“Even though they’re pitiful themselves, they still like to bully others, as if that makes them superior.”
“Xia Yi, I used to hate these people, and I hated myself for being born in the Underground City.”
“You know, the nobles on the surface eat bananas and apples, drink wine; their manners are elegant and refined.”
“The first time I went to the surface, I felt like a dirty rat.”
Koda laughed at his own analogy. After laughing, he quieted down.
“Big Brother said that nobles are actually no different from the slaves and commoners in the Underground City. It’s just that the Underground City exposes its ugliness directly, while nobles like to disguise themselves, so they appear glamorous.”
“The Underground City has a harsh environment and lacks food, which brings out the ugliness of humanity.”
“If you let those so-called nobles experience this life, within a month, they’ll become just like us.”
Koda said, “So we’re not wrong.”
“People in the Underground City are resigned to their fate, but Big Brother is different. He’s trying his best to allow everyone to live like nobles.”
“The signals we intercept are brief, but Big Brother keeps infiltrating the surface…” Realizing he’d said too much, Koda suddenly stopped.
Xia Yi kept his head down, silent.
After a long while, Koda remembered the purpose of his introduction to the Underground City. He suddenly turned to Xia Yi, his tone persuasive.
“Xia Yi, the Underground City is dangerous; there are many bad people here. Are you afraid?”
Xia Yi’s face turned pale.
His body trembled.
Seeing the expected effect, Koda cast aside his earlier gloomy mood.
He leaned close to Xia Yi’s ear and whispered, “You’re a precious natural golden merman. In the Underground City, everyone wants you.”
Xia Yi didn’t want to die. When his brother left, he said he’d come back. If he died, his brother would be very sad.
He mumbled softly, “Ouyang… he’ll protect me.”
Koda burst out laughing.
He deliberately glanced at the little merman.
“Our Big Brother doesn’t just protect anyone,” Koda feigned regret, clicking his tongue. “Although he’s sharp-tongued, he’s gentle and strong, and he’s only attentive to his wife!”
“I envy my sister-in-law.”
“Safety is not a concern either, because our Big Brother is the strongest man in the Underground City!”
“No one can beat him.”
Koda puffed out his chest, immensely proud.
That’s right, the reason Koda first introduced the cruelty and chaos of the Underground City was to instill fear in the little merman.
The next step was to subtly imply that his Big Brother was powerful, handsome, and that there was no one else like him in the Underground City; a chance encounter not to be missed.
Opportunity doesn’t knock twice!
Koda silently gave himself a thumbs-up.
Amazing, Dada!
Sure enough, the little merman took the bait.
Xia Yi grabbed Koda’s arm. His hand trembled with fear, and it took a long time before he finally spoke.
“Xia Yi wants to be the sister-in-law.”
Koda almost laughed out loud.
His eyes flashed with excitement, but he managed to calm himself. He leaned close to Xia Yi’s ear and whispered how to be a sister-in-law.
Finally, he said solemnly, “I didn’t force you to be my sister-in-law.”
“You have to like our Big Brother, and our Big Brother has to like you, only then can you be the sister-in-law. It’s not a one-sided affair!”
Xia Yi nodded seriously.
Koda had just explained to him some things about being a sister-in-law. To be a sister-in-law, he not only needed the approval of all the younger brothers, but also had to sleep with Ouyang, so Ouyang would always protect him!
This way, he could escape the fate of being slapped to death by Ouyang. He wanted to survive.
So, when Ouyang Xiaoli returned home that night, he saw the little merman smile sweetly at him.
He stopped in his tracks.
Though he found the scene inexplicable, he didn’t think much of it and headed to his room.
Today he’d been to the surface, infiltrating the fourth level of the Empire’s secret facility. He’d been careless and had been grazed by a laser beam on his arm and face. The bleeding wasn’t a problem, but it triggered the alarm. If he hadn’t been quick-witted, he might not have escaped.
Ouyang Xiaoli went into the room.
A short time later, he came out with clean clothes and went to the bathroom, taking off his blood-stained jacket and trousers.
The warm water from the shower poured down.
He tilted his head, letting the water droplets fall on his face. The wound felt slightly numb and painful. His chest and back were covered with old scars. The water flowed down his strong chest to his eight-pack abs, then gathered into a small stream, flowing into the unseen depths. He was six feet three, with long legs and smooth, strong muscles, containing boundless explosive power.
“Ouyang…”
Xia Yi spoke weakly from the doorway.
“Bang!” All the bathing supplies in the shower room tumbled to the floor. A bottle rolled towards Xia Yi.
Xia Yi looked down.
Then he bent down to pick up the bottle.
Ouyang Xiaoli’s entire face darkened. He quickly grabbed a towel from the side, covering his private parts, and glared at the uninvited guest!
“How did you get in here?”
Xia Yi stared at the area covered by the man’s towel. After a long moment, his face suddenly flushed red: “I, I… I just pushed the door open and came in.”
Ouyang Xiaoli: “…”
He felt complicated emotions as he wiped his face.
Thankfully, he hadn’t been planning anything strange, otherwise, if he had been seen, he wouldn’t be able to be the leader of the Underground City anymore.
“Get out.”
Ouyang Xiaoli took a deep breath.
Xia Yi tilted his little face, glanced at the man, then at the area covered by the towel: “Xia Yi accidentally saw it.”
“I’m sorry.”
He bowed sincerely.
Ouyang Xiaoli: “…”
He awkwardly cleared his throat.
He waited patiently for a moment, but the little merman was still blocking the door, showing no intention of leaving. Had he not made his meaning clear?
“You…”
Xia Yi’s eyes were watery, his little face flushed red from the steam, his small hand nervously twisting the crumpled hem of his clothes.
As if he’d made a decision, he finally mustered his courage, raising his head to look at the handsome man who was a head taller than him.
