Take for example the drink Jiang Cheng is having right now. It’s not because he’s particularly thirsty, but because he feels that after completing his mission and returning victorious, he needs a drink to celebrate in this manner.

Ba Lvluo saw Jiang Cheng finish his drink and promptly poured another one, handing it to him.

"Bootlicker," Yanran taunted Ba Lv.

"Teacher, look, sister’s scolding me," Ba Lv complained to Jiang Cheng.

The Mermaid Leader stood by, grinning at the cheerful interaction between teacher and students.

"Enough, you two," Jiang Cheng stopped Yanran and Ba Lvluo from bickering. Without intervention, his two disciples would quarrel for ages.

Yanran and Ba Lv settled down, sitting beside Jiang Cheng next to the Mermaid Leader, eager to hear the account of his journey to the Sea Wolf habitat.

Jiang Cheng didn’t rush into talking about his experiences but instead asked the Mermaid Leader, "Do you know, it might have been you or perhaps your people, though I can’t confirm the time—possibly long ago—did you attack a spaceship?"

The Mermaid Leader widened her beautiful eyes in surprise and retorted to Jiang Cheng, "Us? Attack a spaceship?"

Seeing Jiang Cheng nod in confirmation, the Mermaid Leader adamantly denied, "That’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Yanran and Ba Lv found Jiang Cheng’s question odd but also thought that it seemed unlikely that mermaids would attack a spaceship without reason.

These beautiful creatures are so kind-hearted that Yanran and Ba Lvluo have long recognized this through their interactions.

On this planet almost entirely covered by water, besides the Sea Wolves, there are hardly any other large and aggressive creatures, which they learned in recent conversations with the mermaids.

This is why the mermaids can live freely here.

Additionally, they are nearly herbivorous, with their daily diet consisting primarily of seaweeds and plants from the ocean.

Such creatures are almost harmless to others—how could they attack someone unprovoked?

Despite agreeing with the Mermaid Leader, they also knew that their teacher must have a reason for asking such a question.

Jiang Cheng returned from the Sea Wolves’ dwelling, and his reconnaissance had indeed yielded substantial information.

He discovered where these suddenly appearing Sea Wolves originated from, initially puzzled because according to the Mermaid Leader, these Sea Wolves seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

Jiang Cheng knows a bit about biological evolution, well aware that a species like Sea Wolves couldn’t just manifest suddenly; without years of evolution, they wouldn’t exist.

According to the Mermaid Leader, they had never encountered Sea Wolves before, nor had they seen similar creatures.

Thus, Jiang Cheng concluded that these Sea Wolves must be an alien species.

He was right; through the diary left by a deceased smuggler, he learned that these Sea Wolves were brought to this planet by him.

Moreover, under his rigorous training, these Sea Wolves existed solely to fight against and eliminate the mermaids.

The reason the smuggler became enemies with the mermaids, according to his diary, was that while searching for a place to land on the ocean surface, the mermaids suddenly attacked him, causing his spaceship to crash and his belongings to sink into the ocean.

This incident was the root cause of animosity between him and the mermaids.

The current dilemma is why the mermaids suddenly attacked this smuggler?

Though this question isn’t extremely crucial, it indeed aroused Jiang Cheng and his companions’ curiosity, as their impression was that mermaids weren’t the kind to initiate attacks; their kind nature determined their actions.

Hearing the Mermaid Leader’s firm response, Jiang Cheng narrated his findings within the Sea Wolf habitat.

Listening to Jiang Cheng’s words, the Mermaid Leader could scarcely believe her ears—when did the mermaids attack a spaceship, thus forging enmity with the likes of Sea Wolves?

However, Jiang Cheng wasn’t one to jest about such matters; nor did the deceased smuggler seem to have any reason to lie in his diary, indicating all of it truly happened.

The emergence of Sea Wolves and their relentless feud with the mermaids all originated from the mermaids’ assault on the smuggler’s spaceship.

If they hadn’t attacked that spaceship, the mermaids wouldn’t have encountered Sea Wolves and wouldn’t be facing nearly extermination.

The Mermaid Leader fell into deep thought, desperately sifting through her memories for any traces relating to this incident.

Her contemplation lasted so long that just as Jiang Cheng thought to have her give up, the Mermaid Leader murmured, "Heavens, could it be because of this?" Jiang Cheng realized she must have remembered something, so they remained silent, not wanting to interrupt her thought process, waiting quietly on the side.

Raising her head, the Mermaid Leader addressed Jiang Cheng and the others, "Actually, I’m unsure, but in my memory, only this may be connected."

"Speak then, and we’ll analyze it together," Yanran encouraged beside her.

"It was when I was young," the Mermaid Leader recalled. "At that time, there were no Sea Wolves, so we lived quite freely, spending our days playing in different seas in small groups, doing little else.

Then one day, we discovered this habitat—the very place," the Mermaid Leader waved her hand, "It’s peaceful here, our favorite spot. So back then, the leader decided to make this our established residence, and since then, we’ve called it home.

"Do not underestimate the significance of this bay to our mermaid clan," at this point, the Mermaid Leader raised her head, looking at Jiang Cheng and Yanran, "Though back then, we had no natural enemies, as we lacked a permanent dwelling, the harsh, unpredictable weather was our greatest adversary.

Jiang Cheng and Yanran nodded; as humans, they understood well what ’home’ meant.

The Mermaid Leader nodded, grateful that these three land-dwelling humans could comprehend the life of mermaids.

"Each year, due to the ruthless weather, many of our people perished, and without a settled address, many more wandered elsewhere.

...

"Thus, having this residence is akin to divine providence, offering us a blessed sanctuary. We need no longer face harsh weather threats, and our wandering kin can return to the larger family."