"Damn it, she’s eaten all my bait!"
Mu You looked at the empty fishnet bag inside the bigger fishing net, and he was utterly speechless.
This bait, laced with a sleeping potion, was specifically reserved for catching magic fish. He had hoped to net loads of fish, but instead, he ended up with all his bait eaten by one fish, and it’s a mermaid no less...
If this mermaid were caught by an ordinary fisherman or a slave trader, they would probably go hysterically happy.
A Nicaro mermaid resembling humans in appearance and not cannibalistic is extremely valuable and would fetch a fortune at auction! Even the poorest fisherman could become wealthy overnight, reaching the peak of their life.
However, to Mu You, this creature was not so heavenly, but more of a hot potato.
The most he could do with this mermaid is to use some of her scales to refine medicine, but otherwise, it’s of no use.
Both killing and selling, typical choices for most people, wouldn’t work here. Those who kill mermaids will carry a scent that only other mermaids can recognize and would face violent revenge if discovered by them.
Chances are, if he sells the mermaid and gets discovered, the mermaid tribe would bear a grudge against him for the rest of his life. This would mean he has to stay away from the ocean forever, because in the water, the dominance of the mermaid tribe would not spare any enemy.
Mu You had just inherited the Ghost Ship and inevitably had to deal with seawater for a long time to come. Therefore, he definitely should avoid doing things that burn his bridges.
The choices left for him now are only two: either take it back and nurture it or release it on the spot.
However, Mu You looked at the mermaid in the fishing net who was still unconscious and wondered how long she has been sleeping and when she ate the bait?
If left here, the most likely outcome would be a fisherman passing by and taking her away for sale.
"Screw it, let’s take her back..."
Mu You thought through and decided to take the mermaid back to Earth, and he could always release her the next time he comes.
Speaking of which, this unexpected mermaid isn’t an entirely bad thing since they are intelligent beings that he can communicate with. They don’t dislike the Fools as the Star Spirit Wizards do.
If he can establish good relations with the mermaid tribe, they could possibly provide help when encountering various troubles in the sea in the future.
Mu You put the fishing net into his backpack and placed it in a pool of water in the grassland.
Despite making such big movements, the mermaid was still sound asleep with no signs of waking up, showing the potency of the sleeping potion.
Then he moved the prefabricated supplies in the backpack, mainly bait and liquor, to the side of the teleportation array at the bottom of the sea. Afterward, he packed up the backpack, stepped into the teleportation array, and returned to the Northern Snowfield.
Suddenly returning to the ice field from underwater, the howling cold wind instantly made him covered with frost. Mu You hurriedly conjured a small range of fire circle to dry the moisture off his body.
"Boss, you are finally back!"
Lin Xue and Little Ya were waiting for him at the door, each with a large furry coat on, while Battle Eagle soared in the sky, patrolling the surrounding environment.
"Any troubles at home?"
Mu You brushed off the frost from his body and glanced at the two girls. After a full day of leveling up, their levels had noticeably improved.
"No, Sister Xue and I have been grinding monsters all day. We’ve almost wiped out all the monsters within the vicinity..." Little Ya quickly recounted their experiences for the day.
They didn’t need much experience at the early stage, and with the assistance of Battle Eagle, there were practically no formidable beasts in the snowfield. Their leveling speed was rather fast.
Lin Xue even took turns with Little Ya midway for hunting. At the end of the day, both of them leveled up to six, and Lin Xue was even close to seven.
Mu You nodded, opened his backpack at the door and unpacked all the things inside.
The backpack, once returned to the other side of the door, would become inaccessible again. Hence, he had to remove all the contents ahead of time for manual transport inside.
Seeing that only five minutes were left before the door closed, Lin Xue and Little Ya rushed to help him move the items.
However, when they saw Mu You take out a mermaid, both of them were left dumbfounded.
"Boss, did you actually abduct a mermaid back home???" Little Ya’s mouth widened in astonishment.
"Well, would you believe me if I said I found her?" Mu You asked sincerely.
The two girls exchanged a glance. Their expressions are remarkably in sync: Unbelievable!
If mermaids in legends can be picked up randomly, they wouldn’t be so precious.
Even Mu You didn’t know how to explain himself. He feels that this little mermaid seemed a bit sillier than the normal mermaids. She had been caught once before, yet dared to eat the bait again and fell into his net. She was also greedy, eating anything without knowing what it was, showing no caution that an intelligent creature should have.
After they returned home, Mu You recalled the Battle Eagle and waited at the door for the timer to run out.
After confirming that the door was completely closed, he asked Vivian to reseal it back into the Magic Card.
Meanwhile, Lin Xue and Little Ya had already brought the mermaid into the backpack storage space. They found a shallow fish tank in the store and put the mermaid inside, then filled the tank with river water. Allegedly mermaids can’t be away from water for too long. Whether true or not, they soaked her in the water just in case.
When Mu You entered, Lin Xue and Little Ya were already crowded around the fish tank, curiously observing and discussing about the mermaid. Even the Unicorn and Mandrake had joined them. This intelligent creature that lives underwater was definitely a fascinating novelty for all of them.