The Mermaid Princess

Ku--ts! With the sound of air being released as a valve opened, the hatch of the game pod slowly opened. Xiao Yu opened his sore eyes with difficulty and saw the familiar scene of his room. However, after experiencing half a month of gaming life, when he returned to reality, he felt as if he had been in another world.

He struggled to his feet, pulled the nutrient tube out of his mouth, and moved his body around. Fortunately, the muscle stimulation system in this deluxe gaming pod was effective; even after lying down for half a month, his body didn't feel too weak or powerless, just a little stiff.

After jumping out of the gaming pod and moving around a bit, my body felt refreshed. It's said that this gaming pod uses sleep pod technology from spacecraft, which doesn't seem to be unfounded.

However, the feeling of unfamiliarity around him still lingered. Looking at the familiar yet strange environment before him, Xiao Yu had a feeling that the world in the game was the real one, while what he was in now was just a virtual space.

He knew this was a side effect of playing too many holographic virtual games. Trying to suppress the unreal feeling in his heart, he rubbed his face and went to the window, looking out. It was just past ten o'clock. He saw a breakfast vendor packing up his cart, a young girl leisurely walking her dog down the street, and pedestrians coming and going. Looking up, the blinding sunlight hit him in the face. Feeling the glare, the unreal feeling gradually faded away.

His stomach suddenly growled, and Xiao Yu finally felt hungry. To be honest, he hadn't eaten for half a month. During this time, he had only survived on the nutrient solution provided by the game pod. Although it was rich and comprehensive in nutrition and could replenish all the nutrients the human body needed, it was really hard to feel full. Moreover, the greasy taste still lingered in his mouth. He desperately needed a delicious real meal to reward himself.

After getting dressed, Xiao Yu went out.

He didn't go too far; his destination was still the nearby breakfast shop. Although he really wanted to have a big meal, he knew that given his current condition, he should eat in moderation. Therefore, the light food at the breakfast shop was just right for him.

"Hey, long time no see! What would you like to eat?" The waiter behind the window greeted him warmly as he walked in.

"It's been a long time," Xiao Yu said, ordering everything on the menu. He only ate once every two weeks, so he had to eat his fill.

After ordering his food and a bottle of Coke, he sat down at the table and gulped it down in one go. He let out a long breath and suddenly felt like he had come back to life.

"Hello, here's what you ordered!" a voice rang out. He looked up and saw an unfamiliar face.

"Hey, where's Liu Xiaoyu?" Xiao Yu asked curiously.

"I quit my job. I said I want to become a professional gamer," the girl said with a shrug.

"Damn it," Xiao Yu thought to himself. "No way! I was just joking with her back then. This girl actually quit her job. Does she even know how to play games? What if she ends up begging for food? Wouldn't that be a terrible thing for me?"

"Um, when was the last time you saw her?"

The girl gave him a strange look. "Yesterday? Even though she resigned, she still comes here to eat every day, so we see each other every day. Look, here she is."

Xiao Yu turned around and saw Liu Xiaoyu walking in chatting and laughing with two other girls. The three of them looked to be about the same age and seemed to know each other very well. One of them had a neat short haircut and wore a black leather jacket, looking quite dashing. The other had her hair tied in a ponytail and wore sportswear, giving her a very refreshing look. As for Liu Xiaoyu, she had changed out of her work clothes and looked much prettier.

"Oh, you're here too!" Liu Xiaoyu was taken aback when she saw Xiao Yu, then suddenly slapped her forehead. "Look at my IQ! The game was down for maintenance, of course you'd come out for dinner! But speaking of which, it's been about half a month since we last saw each other, haha. Let me introduce you, these two are friends I met in the game, Xiaoxue and Xiaoyue."

"Guo Tianxue," the girl with neat short hair extended her hand and shook hands with Xiao Yu, her voice as concise and powerful as her appearance.

"Qin Shiyue," the girl with her hair tied in a ponytail shook hands with Xiao Yu, but her voice was indifferent, polite yet distant.

Liu Xiaoyu was quite outgoing; she immediately pulled the two girls to sit down, looking at Xiao Yu with interest, "You don't mind if we sit together, do you?"

Xiao Yu thought to himself, "You're already sitting down, why are you still asking?" But he knew Liu Xiaoyu was the kind of person who was naturally outgoing, so he didn't say anything and just ate his breakfast.

"So you quit your job? Are you sure you want to become a professional gamer?"

"That's right, but don't worry, I'm not going to stick with you anymore. I'm already taken." He finished speaking and looked smugly at Qin Shiyue beside him.

"It's probably the studio," Xiao Yu thought. "What am I worried about? You talk like you've already won."

To everyone's surprise, Liu Xiaoyu said, "I'm definitely going to win."

"You've advanced to the BOSS template?" Xiao Yu asked, somewhat incredulous. A newbie advancing to the beginner BOSS level in just one month? It seemed a bit unbelievable. This wasn't some third-rate online game novel, and you didn't have a protagonist's halo. It didn't make sense.

"Though I'm not quite there yet, I'm not far off. I'm currently the Mermaid Princess's maidservant, an elite template. I just need to defeat a few more Naga to advance to the BOSS template, which should be within the next day or two."

These words piqued Xiao Yu's interest. "Hmm, so you're currently at war with the Naga?"

"Of course! We and the Naga are sworn enemies. Those ugly monsters dared to invade our Mermaid Kingdom, so we're at war every day."

Xiao Yu thought to himself that this was indeed an opportunity. Since he planned to attack the Naga territory, establishing contact with the Mermaid Kingdom would be a good option. "Is your kingdom large? As far as I know, there's more than one Mermaid Kingdom."

"There are twelve Mermaid Kingdom. Our kingdom is considered one of the smaller ones, but our fighting strength is not weak. This is because we have formed an alliance with the Lobster People, and we can ask those big claws for help."

"So, are you familiar with the Little Mermaid? Could you let me meet her sometime?"

"Why do you want to see our princess?" Liu Xiaoyu asked with a suspicious look.

"Of course, it's about discussing a grand plan to cooperate against the Naga. I'm the Water Elemental Prince, maybe we can even arrange a marriage. I just don't know if Water Elemental and mermaids have reproductive barriers, but fantasy games shouldn't have so many restrictions. Angels and demons can both give birth to Nephalem, and Water Elemental and mermaids are both Marine Life, so the difference is much smaller than that." Xiao Yu said seriously. In his opinion, this matter had a good chance of succeeding. He had been playing games for so many years, and many times it was all about leveraging advantages. As long as the conditions met the requirements, it was very likely to succeed.

His primary objective now is to eliminate the hundreds of Naga, so he has to let go of some things.

"You, you, you--" Liu Xiaoyu's face turned bright red instantly, and she was speechless, looking utterly astonished and as if she had been teased.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Yu looked at her strangely, thinking to himself, what's wrong with this girl? It's not like I'm going to marry her.

"What nonsense are you talking about? The Little Mermaid is our—"

"Hmm," Qin Shiyue suddenly coughed and glared at Liu Xiaoyu, while Guo Tianxue, standing to the side, had a mischievous grin on her face, looking like she was eager to stir up trouble.

Qin Shiyue said calmly, "I am the mermaid princess of the Raging Tide Kingdom, currently commanding three thousand mermaid naval troops, and we are at war with the Naga. In addition, I am also the guild leader of the Song of the Ocean Guild, and our main development area is currently the Great Sea."

Xiao Yu was immediately embarrassed, thinking to himself, "Oh no, God, do you have to give me such a melodramatic plot?" "Um, I originally thought that mermaid princess was an NPC. What I said just now was just a casual remark."

Qin Shiyue shook her head. "No, it's nothing. In business, profit is the primary consideration, and this kind of thing is normal. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. If it's really suitable, forming an alliance with you in the game wouldn't be a big deal. After all, it's just a game, and it's good for us allies to help each other. However, before forming an alliance, I'm afraid you'll have to prove your strength. Although our Song of the Ocean Guild isn't very large, we still have several dozen people, and we're quite powerful in the Great Sea. If you don't have enough strength, then there's no point in discussing cooperation."

Seeing that the other party was so frank, Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief. He quite appreciated Qin Shiyue's businesslike attitude. "That's no problem. I'll contact you after the game update. With my status in the Water Elemental Plane, I can't guarantee I can't muster a few thousand online followers."

The three girls ultimately did not have breakfast with Xiao Yu, but instead packed it up and took it away.

Watching the three figures depart, Xiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief. The atmosphere just now was quite awkward, but if he could join forces with the mermaids, he would have a better chance of winning. After all, the mermaids were the earliest natives of the Great Sea.

However, strength comes first, so I need to gather an army as soon as possible.