Cannon Fodder Chapter 53: My Tears Are Pearls 11: Doubt

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Sulo

 

The next morning, Yu Ze sat down on the couch after a delicious breakfast of fresh fish and chips to read the comments. The netizens’ attitude towards mermaids had changed dramatically, turning to condemn Skywalker’s violent hunting behavior.

Skywalker’s bounty order was also forcibly withdrawn, and the Military Ministry issued a statement, “There is no evidence that Brewer’s poisoning is related to mermaids, but the descendants of martyrs deserve to be protected.”

“Beep…” As he was watching, Leon’s message beeped beside him.

Yu Ze looked at Leon, who finished reading the message and said, “Father asked me to take you to the military headquarters.”

Yu Ze changed his slouching posture and straightened his back, “To do what?”

Leon said, “To reissue your ID card and pass on your parents’ relics to you.”

At nine o’clock, Yu Ze followed Leon into the military building, receiving many surprised and curious looks along the way.

The paternity test was readily available, the ID card process was simple, but the handover of the relics was complicated. After all, many of them had been confiscated or used for other purposes after so many years, and not much could actually be handed over.

It was almost noon before all the formalities were completed.

Yu Ze stood for the first time for so long. His feet were sore and weak, he took Leon by the sleeve, “Can we go back?”

Leon nodded, took Yu Ze to greet Admiral Audeux, and left.

Yu Ze sat in the passenger seat and stretched his feet forward, squeezing his legs lightly.

Leon frowned, “Do your feet hurt?”

Yu Ze smiled at him, “It’s okay, it’s a little sore and soft. I’m not used to walking on my feet yet, I’ll get better with more practice.”

Leon drove the car very fast and it didn’t take long to get back to the villa, he opened the passenger door around the front of the car and reached towards Yu Ze.

Yu Ze froze, the corners of his mouth curved, and put his hand in his.

Leon took his hand firmly and led him out of the car, looking down at him, “Is it okay if I carry you in?”

Yu Ze’s eyes blinked rapidly and he blushed slightly, “My feet are fine, I can walk by myself.”

Leon said, “You’ll be uncomfortable, I don’t want to see you feel bad.”

His tone was not different from usual, very steady, but Yu Ze’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated, “Then please.”

Leon bent down and gently and sharply picked him up, his voice kissing his ear, “It’s no trouble at all, you’re very light.”

Leon carried Yu Ze straight to the pool and put him on the edge, “Relax in the water, I’ll get you something to eat.”

Yu Ze was in a good mood and his eyes curled up, “Okay.”

While Leon was getting the food, Yu Ze took off his T-shirt and jumped into the water, his feet turned into his tail, his eyes squinted comfortably, and he gently wagged his tail in the water.

After lunch, Leon received a communication, hung up and said to Yu Ze, “Father said Admiral Bevin invited you and me to a dinner party hosted by Mrs. Bevin.”

“Admiral Bevin?” Yu Ze wondered.

Leon said, “One of the three admirals, who has always been neutral towards mermaids, saw you at the military headquarters today.”

Yu Ze couldn’t decide, “What does Admiral Audeux mean, does he approve of me going?”

Leon nodded, “Ketuo Planet people’s impressions of mermaids are from legends, biased or established impressions, and so are many people in the military hierarchy. Spending time with real mermaids is more likely to change their perceptions and help gain their support when submitting regulations for mermaid protection.”

Yu Ze thought for a moment and felt that Leon had a point. People were afraid of the unknown, and now the online comments were much friendlier to mermaids, but there were still people who were afraid of mermaid abilities and worried that mermaids fed on human mental power.

“When does the dinner party start? Should I make any preparations?” He asked.

Leon said, “7:30 p.m. I’ll prepare the clothes, you get more rest.”

At 6:30 p.m., Leon and Yu Ze ate dinner at the villa, then changed their clothes and organized their image, and left at 7:10 p.m., arriving at Bevin’s house before the dinner started.

As soon as they walked into the banquet hall, all eyes fell on them. Leon was worried about Yu Ze’s fear and shook his hand as a sign of reassurance.

Yu Ze smiled and said he was fine.

The two greeted their hosts first, then went to find Admiral and Mrs. Audeux. Madame Audeux pulled Yu Ze and kept complimenting him, “Ze Ze is so pretty.”

Yu Ze was wearing a white suit and looked like a little prince, he smiled a little sheepishly and complimented the other back.

Soon after, someone came up to greet him, and after saying some polite words, he couldn’t help but look at Yu Ze, “You’re a mermaid?”

Yu Ze nodded openly and smiled politely, “Yes, hello.”

The people who were watching the movement next to him froze, thinking that he looked too much like a human, not at all like the mermaid they remembered, and couldn’t help but try to find something different in him.

Madame Audeux took Yu Ze to meet a lot of people, many of whom were family members of Admiral Holet’s former subordinates. They were all very nice to Yu Ze, but there was inevitably surprise in their eyes, and after talking about him, they were very fond of the well-behaved Yu Ze, especially when they thought about his background, the aunts could not help but feel compassion.

Yu Ze was pulled by Madame Audeux for the first dance, and Leon was ready to snatch him up at the end, but one of the aunties stole him first.

After the dance, Leon quickly walked up to Yu Ze and picked him up. Leon grabbed Yu Ze and walked out, “Are your feet tired?”

Yu Ze shook his head, “No,” when a new song started, Yu Ze tugged Leon’s sleeve, “Want to dance one?”

Leon once again confirmed to him that his feet were fine, so he swept the man onto the dance floor and danced.

The two of them were so close to each other that Yu Ze whispered, “How did I do?”

Leon said, “Very good,” he seemed to feel that the words were too perfunctory and added, “very pleasing.”

Both the person in question, Yu Ze, and the perceptive Leon were aware of the eyes that had been falling on Yu Ze. Both were calm, knowing before they arrived that being gawked at was essential.

Leon originally worried that Yu Ze would be nervous, but did not expect Yu Ze to be very calm. Yu Ze’s attitude was natural and extraordinarily affable, not at all stiff and stereotypical, giving a look at his real character.

If one didn’t think about it deliberately, they may even think that he was a good boy next door, a young man with a gentle personality, not at all associated with the siren called mermaid. Yu Ze smiled, very happy. Tonight’s main task was to let everyone meet him, change the established impression of mermaids, let everyone know that mermaids were not terrible, and could live in peace with humans.

After the dance, Leon pulled Yu Ze, ready to sit and rest for a while, when Mrs. Bevin came over and looked at Yu Ze tenderly, “Let me take you to the restroom to rest for a while, there are foot bath facilities in the restroom.”

Yu Ze froze, and Mrs. Bevin said, “I knew your father. He was often in a wheelchair, he would never dance two songs in a row. I used to think he had a foot injury, but now I know how it is, I see you have danced three dances in a row, your feet are tired, right?”

Yu Ze smiled politely, “It’s okay, thank you though ma’am.”

Mrs. Bevin gave him a look, “Then remember, go to the restroom if you don’t feel well, don’t be formal.”

Yu Ze nodded, “Thank you, madam.”

Mrs. Bevin went to entertain other guests and Leon looked down and asked, “Shall we go to the restroom?”

“No,” Yu Ze pointed to the corner, “we can sit there for a while, I want to drink something.”

Leon had no objection, and the two of them sat down in the corner, and very soon people came to talk to Leon and Yu Ze.

When the people dispersed, Yu Ze drank a lot of water and said, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Leon said, “I’ll go with you.”

Yu Ze lost his smile, “No, I’ll be right back.”

The bathroom in the ballroom was very private and had a full cubicle.

Yu Ze finished and was about to come out of the cubicle when he suddenly felt a sharp mental wave, brief and strong, which immediately reminded him of the morning he contacted the Golden Flood Dragon, when he retrieved his mental wave and perceived the same type of mental wave.

His heart fluttered violently as a dull scream of pain came from next door, followed by two successive crashes.

His face changed and he immediately pushed open the door, the bathroom was empty, the door of the cubicle was closed, and there was no movement at all.

He hurriedly knocked on the door of the cubicle, “Is there anyone?”

The sound of the door sounded muffled, his heart suddenly sank, there was something against the door behind. He had a bad suspicion that the person in the cubicle had fallen against the door, thinking of the sound just now.

He withdrew his hand and turned to go out to call someone, when a line of people rushed in, the forefront was a scared young man, the young master of the Bevin family.

The young man’s face was white as he pulled the security guard’s sleeve, “Someone really screamed, I just went out and heard it, scared me to death.”

“I heard it too, I was about to go into the bathroom, I was scared to death.”

“You, why are you here?!” A man looked at Yu Ze and asked in surprise.

Yu Ze said, “… I went to the bathroom.” Do they think mermaids don’t have to solve their physical problems?

The guard looked at Yu Ze, “Did you hear someone screaming?”

Yu Ze nodded and pointed to the door of the cubicle, “It’s coming from here.”

The security guard called his colleagues and quickly got the person out of the cubicle, who was out of breath.

The man was already out of breath. The young master Bevin recognized the victim at once, and his eyes burst into tears, looking terrified, “It’s Kerry, he’s in good health, how could he suddenly collapse like this?!”

Admiral Bevin heard the commotion and immediately called for the bathroom and the people involved to be brought under control and arranged for a doctor to examine Kerry.

Mrs. Kerry cried her eyes out when she heard the news, and her sobs were choked to the bone.

The doctor finished the examination and reported, “Brain dead.”

There was a sigh all around.

“How could he be brain dead when he was just fine.”

“It’s terrible, it’s so sudden.”

Admiral Bevin asked the security guard, “Who was in the bathroom at the time of the incident?”

The security guard reported truthfully that besides Kerry, there were only Young Master Bevin and Yu Ze.

Admiral Bevin asked his youngest son seriously, “When you went into the bathroom, did you notice anything wrong?”

Master Bevan’s voice trembled, “No, everything was normal, I heard the screaming on my way out.”

“And you?” Admiral Bevin asked Yu Ze.

Yu Ze thought of the spirit fluctuation, was hesitant to say, when a harsh voice sounded, “Did you kill my son?”

Yu Ze looked over, Mrs. Kerry was lunging towards him, but Leon grabbed her shoulder and restrained her.

Yu Ze frowned and denied, “I had nothing to do with it.”

“Brain dead! When Admiral Holer and Major died, the zerg around them were brain dead!” He didn’t know who it was, but suddenly someone said in a frightened tone.

All of a sudden, many eyes fell on Yu Ze, full of suspicion.