Ling Yan had once strolled along the seabed using advanced equipment, the greatest perk the Prison Star had ever granted the star police force.
He had been in a good mood then, even feeding breadcrumbs to the small fish that swam past him.
The current scene, though also underwater, was a far cry from that vacation.
Sea rats were already extremely fast on land, but in the sea, they were like wild donkeys off the leash, completely uncontrollable.
Its tail was like a wind-up motor, constantly spinning and propelling its pig-like body forward.
Although it was clearly aware that it was still dragging those two humans behind it.
Those two humans who were like parasites clinging to its body, impossible to shake off, and even more cunning and treacherous than itself.
Ling Yan's posture with his arm around Mu Yuan was very natural. Mu Yuan had initially felt somewhat awkward, but seeing the other man's composed demeanor, he put aside his distractions and allowed himself to be carried swiftly through the sea by the sea rat and Ling Yan.
The sea rat was clearly extremely familiar with this area of the sea, and underwater, it didn't need its injured hind leg at all, so it maintained a steady speed.
Ling Yan was very grateful that he had only poked its hind leg and hadn't injured its tail. Otherwise, relying on just him and Mu Yuan, they probably would never have reached the Sea Rat King in their lifetime.
After being carried by the sea rat for about fifteen minutes of sea travel, the underwater environment underwent a noticeable change. The spaces between seaweed and coral were adorned with various shining pearls, as well as silvery utensils scavenged from who knows where – plates, forks, and even oil lamp stands.
In short, both sides were like a path specially paved with various luminous objects. The sea rat, with its neck craned upwards, swam past the glowing seabed path with considerable pride, leading Ling Yan and Mu Yuan into a huge cave.
This underwater cave was also decorated with various glittering things. At first glance, it was dazzling, as if they had entered some incredible treasure cave.
Upon closer inspection, it was clear that most of these luminous things were actually junk. However, through clever arrangement using different angles, things that glowed, reflected light, and refracted light, utilizing the principles of mechanics, the entire cave was made to shine brightly, a very sophisticated design.
Frankly, Ling Yan hadn't expected sea rats to be this intelligent and secretly admired them.
Leading them to their destination, the sea rat slowed down. When Mu Yuan and Ling Yan drifted to its side due to inertia, it squeaked sharply at Mu Yuan a few times.
Mu Yuan looked at Ling Yan, who understood and untied the ropes on the poor laborer they had been holding captive all the way, offering a completely insincere apology, "Sorry, but because you're so cunning, if we hadn't injured your leg, you would have run off long ago."
The sea rat squeaked back at Ling Yan rudely. Ling Yan didn't ask Mu Yuan to translate, knowing it wouldn't be anything pleasant.
The two continued to swim deeper into the underwater cave and soon heard a series of extremely eerie laughter.
The laughter was very rhythmic, in the form of "ge ge ge, ge ge," repeated several times.
Mu Yuan's features wrinkled together. "What unclean thing did it eat to laugh like that?"
Ling Yan also found the laughter extremely unsettling. When the two continued to swim further in and finally reached the deepest part of the cave, the laughter abruptly stopped...
"Who's there! Show yourselves!"
Ling Yan and Mu Yuan rounded the sheltering rock wall and saw the legendary Sea Rat King at the deepest part of the cave.
Mu Yuan's lips twitched, but Ling Yan's mind was full of doubt.
The reason for Mu Yuan's twitch was the Sea Rat King's bloated physique.
If a regular sea rat resembled a small pig, then the Sea Rat King was an out-and-out large pig, and a sow at that.
Yes, from the various shiny "gems" and "necklaces" adorning its body, as well as the colorful "hair ornaments" pinned to its long, dense fur, it was easy to see that it was female.
And a vain female at that.
Looking at this Sea Rat Queen, Ling Yan suddenly remembered a profound saying from Old Ma, a married member of his team with a daughter:
Most girls like sparkly things.
But these weren't the reason for Mu Yuan's twitching. By visual estimation, this Sea Rat King had to weigh at least four to five hundred pounds. The flesh on its body folded into rolls, and the entire rat leaned against the back wall.
It wasn't hard to deduce that it didn't move much normally, because the "chair" it was sitting on was made of piled-up bottles and jars, forming a chair shape, while it was actually sitting on the cave floor with no chair seat beneath it.
It seemed this Queen greatly valued ritual.
And the reason Ling Yan's heart was filled with doubt was that he could actually understand what the Sea Rat King was saying.
Without even thinking, he knew it must be because of that half-gourd.
When the Sea Rat King saw Ling Yan and Mu Yuan, its black, pebble-like eyes instantly brightened, bursting with absolute brilliance.
"Wow, two beautiful humans. No living humans have come here for thousands of years, and such handsome ones at that."
At this moment, the injured sea rat that had led the two of them to the cave swam up to the Sea Rat King, squeaking frantically. Mu Yuan heard half of it, and his face darkened.
Because it spoke too quickly, Ling Yan couldn't keep up and couldn't determine what it had said to the Sea Rat King, but he could guess it wasn't anything good. Its cries sounded like it was tattling.
Mu Yuan leaned closer to Ling Yan, acting as a temporary translator:
"That sea rat is too unkind. It actually said that we both admire the Queen's great reputation and beauty and willingly came to accompany her. And it even said that our taking that half-gourd was a gift for the Queen, a clever way to use someone else to achieve its own ends. This rat really can't be kept alive."
Ling Yan listened to Mu Yuan's translation, then looked at the Sea Rat King's eyes, which were gradually narrowing with excitement. He turned his gaze to the surroundings, his brain working rapidly.
"General, here's the half-gourd. Just like that sea rat said, present the treasure to the Queen."
Mu Yuan's eyes widened, looking at Ling Yan as if he were seeing a ghost. Then his eyes darted to the oily-skinned Rat King, shining all over, and back to Ling Yan.
Mu Yuan sighed softly.
Alright then.
Trust Ling Yan's judgment. What harm was there in a big gamble?
Mu Yuan took the half-gourd Ling Yan handed him, took a deep breath, and turned his head towards the Sea Rat Queen. His eyes flashed with charm, and a captivating smile bloomed on his lips.
Mu Yuan's smile was seen by the sea rat that had brought them to the underwater cave. It was so frightened that its cry cracked, its tail cramped, and it slid straight past the Sea Rat King, crashing into the cave wall.
Mu Yuan snorted softly, raised the half-gourd in his hand, bowed in presentation, and said:
"Your Majesty, your beauty is like a flower. Seeing you today, I can see that your reputation is indeed well-deserved."
Hmm?
Ling Yan raised a single eyebrow. Was "beauty like a flower" used like that?
Ling Yan watched Mu Yuan tell blatant lies without even blinking, unable to resist running his finger over his lower lip, his gaze somewhat lost in Mu Yuan's figure.
Mu Yuan continued loudly, "This is the treasure from Snowgate Island. We came today for the sole purpose of presenting this treasure to Your Majesty."
As soon as the Sea Rat King heard that it was the treasure from Snowgate Island that had been causing them so much anxiety every month, it couldn't help but move its plump body forward, squinting its eyes as it looked at the half-gourd Mu Yuan was holding...