### Chapter 15: Fish Friends
#### Four rest rooms.
Cai Xun and Bu Jie get one.
White Paint and White Fish sisters get another.
Star Yoon and Neko Shinna share a room.
It seems the only ones left are Zero Meow and Night Lan.
Seems like there aren’t any issues with that arrangement.
Night Lan wouldn’t mind sharing a room with Zero Meow at all—as long as she didn’t get too handsy.
Zero Meow is pretty much a handful.
Who knows what oddball thing she might do?
Maybe she’ll make Night Lan’s dreams of a harem come true—thinking about it gives her a headache.
“Let’s arrange it this way. Does anyone have any other objections?”
As Night Lan expected, the resting room assignments were exactly as she imagined.
She’s sharing a room with Zero Meow.
Zero Meow, despite being a bratty loli with some special quirks, is still quite adorable.
If only she were a bit softer…
When Zero Meow found out she was going to be roommates with Night Lan, she immediately jumped onto her back.
“Mewo~ It’s so great to be with Night Lan! I don’t think I’ve ever slept in the same bed as Night Lan before.”
“If you mess around too much, I’ll join Star Yoon and the others.”
“Whyyyyyy!?”
Night Lan’s straightforward words crushed many of Zero Meow’s naughty plans.
Such a shame!
Of course, even if Night Lan and Zero Meow end up in the same room, they probably won’t sleep together.
After all, there’s Night Star in Pinghaishi.
At night, Night Lan will have to find an excuse to go to the Rising Sun Theater.
Alternatively, during the quiet night alone, Night Lan can sneak Night Star back to the Night Watcher Base.
There are two beds anyway, plenty of space for them all, so sleeping separately is totally fine.
Naturally, Night Lan would definitely want to share a bed with Night Star.
If Zero Meow wants to join them, well, it’s up to her courage.
Later, Night Lan and crew moved their vacation stuff into the rooms, put everything away, then headed out again.
Next up, they needed to explore this unique city properly.
But it seemed unlikely Cai Xun and Bu Jie would be joining them.
“You girls go ahead and enjoy yourselves. Bu Jie and I will take a casual stroll. If you need help with anything, just contact us; we’ll arrive pronto.”
Cai Xun and Bu Jie understand the girls’ circle dynamics and thus decided to go it alone.
The logic was the same.
Guys have their own clique, too. With girls around, things wouldn’t necessarily flow easily.
If they went to check out bikinis on the beach with White Paint and company around, they probably wouldn’t feel free to comment.
White Paint had no reservations.
“Don’t do anything dangerous.”
“You worry too much, White Paint. Bu Jie’s a good fighter, plus he has his abilities. With me by his side, we’ll get out of any trouble. You take care of those little ones for us.”
“Okay.”
With that said, Cai Xun and Bu Jie turned to leave, heading straight for a nearby beach by the map.
Which grown man wouldn’t want to soak up some sun on a beach full of bikini-clad beauties?
It’s like drinking beer without actually wanting to get drunk—it’s still a great time.
Once Cai Xun and Bu Jie left, the girls started planning their next move.
“I suggest buying swimsuits,” Zero Meow chimed in.
Zero Meow has been waiting to say that.
Now in the sea city, she naturally wanted to quickly purchase swimsuits with Night Lan and the gang, and maybe persuade these adorable cherubs to wear some naughty ones—live models for harem manga anyone?
It sounds brilliant!
Night Lan didn’t object.
Night Star already picked out her swimsuit, so Night Lan would obviously pick the matching one.
Since it was already set, there was really no point in stressing over it.
But Night Lan should help White Fish pick one, similar to how she picked for Lianhua.
In that case, she’d better rely on personal preference.
She definitely wouldn’t betray the trust of White Fish and others!
White Paint agreed with Zero Meow’s suggestion and prepared to start the trip.
“Let’s head out.”
“Yay~”
—
### In another part of the city…
A small, blue-haired figure stood near a tank, gazing through the glass at the swimming fish inside, clearly very fond of them.
But outsiders would find that affection a bit creepy, making them feel uneasy.
“Little fish…”
Her small, smooth hand pressed against the glass, attempting to reach out to the fish.
Suddenly, something unexpected happened.
The fish inside began to freak out, possibly reacting to some strong influence.
No matter how they swam, the glass walls kept them from escaping, forcing them to endure fate.
Then, all fish grew quiet. Their bodies began to change biologically, contorting and inflating like some bizarre, mutated creature. An eerie danger permeated the air.
Those seemingly harmless fish, now twisted and dangerous monsters, transformed under some mysterious power.
Small fish can be dangerous; if larger ones were affected, they might threaten human lives.
The blue-haired loli smiled at the fish, still as loving as ever. Clearly, she considered these small animals her most trusted friends.
Even if these creatures looked ugly, she’d never hate them.
It was just her nature.
The blue-haired loli wasn’t just anyone; she was the Star Eclipse Embodiment, carrying within her a tragic essence.
“Star Sheng,” said a young man behind her, sporting short black hair and pale silver eyes, with a star eclipse aura but less chaotic demeanor.
If Night Star were here to observe, she could guess that this guy resembles a semi-star eclipse like Lianhua, retaining human traits but not fully losing himself.
“Li Yan… Any particular reason?”
Star Sheng turned her gaze to Li Yan, not showing the same affection for the fishes but instead displaying a distant and solitary look, as though not comfortable with interacting with others.
She spoke only because he helped bring these cute fish friends to her.
Li Yan paid no attention to Star Sheng’s coldness.
“It’s time to change the fish.”
“Why?”
“They must return home and share with their families the joy of having such good friends. Perhaps they’ll spread the word, attracting more fish friends to you.”
While this statement had a fairy-tale feel, it suited the situation with Star Sheng.
Taking away these contaminated fish might anger her, causing a scene.
To Star Sheng, “friends” need protecting; hurting them or taking them away would be unacceptable.
Fish affected by Star Sheng’s powers couldn’t withstand the corruption for long, eventually dying before her.
So many “friends” dying in front of her would cause immense trauma.
That’s why Li Yan wanted to remove these corrupted beings.
